What are the ways to distinguish the impact of dispersants on coatings?

Dispersants, as a widely used chemical substance in the textile, printing and dyeing industries, have received widespread attention in terms of their performance and effects. Compared to general types of dispersants, water-based coating dispersants are more unique. Most dispersants achieve the purpose of dispersing pigments and fillers through wetting, grinding, and material fusion processes. However, in water-based coatings, anionic or non-ionic dispersants are often used. So how to determine the impact of dispersants on coatings when purchasing them in this way? In fact, it can mainly be judged from aspects such as gloss, transparency, coloring strength, compatibility, etc.

Firstly, the luster. It is an important standard for measuring the quality of coatings, the higher the gloss, the stronger the reflection. For high-quality coatings, the particle size should not exceed 5 microns, and the ink size should not exceed 1 micron. If the coating contains large particles, the glossiness is not strong, and it cannot be effectively dispersed. Polymer dispersants can reduce the accumulation of large particles due to flocculation, effectively improving the glossiness of coatings.

Secondly, transparency. This is also a standard for measuring the quality of coatings. The higher the transparency, the easier it is to see the bottom layer, and the color of the coating will be more vivid. Pigment dispersants improve transparency by affecting the particle size distribution of pigments, enabling coatings to effectively reflect and refract light of various wavelengths, thereby improving the transparency of coatings.

Thirdly, coloring strength and compatibility. Both of these involve contact with other substances, and good coloring strength and compatibility are related to the performance of the coating. Good coloring effect can be achieved without increasing the amount of paint used, which depends on the action of pigment dispersants.