Development of a new experimental method to determine critical pigment–volume–concentrations using impedance spectroscopy

The critical pigment–volume–concentration (CPVC) of a solvent-based epoxy coating with various pigment–volume–concentrations (PVC) was analyzed. It was shown that electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a suitable method to detect the CPVC of coatings. The CPVC can be derived from EIS Bode plots or by fitting the EIS-curves using simple equivalent circuit diagrams. The parameters pore resistance RP, capacitance C of the constant phase element (CPE), the relative dielectric constant ɛR derived from C, and the exponent n of the CPE allow the determination of the CPVC.