How Tough are you?

B-Tough – Combining flexibility and

TM

hardness to Toughen-up your epoxy

coatings
Key performance benefits:
■ Improved flexibility whilst maintaining hardness

■ Excellent impact resistance also at lower temperatures

■ Low viscosity– easy to formulate

Croda Coatings & Polymers – your natural choice

B-ToughTM – Combining flexibility and hardness to
Toughen-up your epoxy coatings

Toughen-up epoxy coatings Improved flexibility while maintaining

Epoxy resins are applied in heavy-duty hardness
coatings for their excellent properties. In adhesives applications toughening is a
Epoxies bring good adhesion to many widely used concept to combine impact
substrates, excellent corrosion protection and strength with hardness. In coating applications,
chemical resistance. introducing toughness can help to overcome
Often epoxy resins are modified to enhance issues such as high-impact damage in floors,
properties, for instance they are modified to cargo holds and piping.
improve flexibility although this affects the Thus far, no technology was available to bring
hardness of the system. A challenge for epoxy toughness performance in an easy to use
formulators is to combine flexibility and solution for high-impact areas.
hardness without negatively impacting other Figure 2 demonstrates the effect of B-Tough
properties. Croda introduces an innovative C2 at a rubber level content of 5%. Flexibility
technology, B-ToughTM, to overcome this is tested by bending without crack formation,
challenge. representing improved toughness
B-Tough C2 is an epoxy functional performance. A low-viscous liquid epoxy
toughening agent for the coatings market to system (Epikote 828) is modified with
formulate epoxy systems with enhanced B-Tough C2 such that it offers the flexibility
flexibility while hardness is maintained. Croda properties of a solid epoxy system (Epikote
presents the B-Tough C2 grade to the 1001) in combination with the hardness of a
coatings market. liquid epoxy system. No compromise on
Toughening agent B-Tough C2 performance is made with B-Tough C2. The
high cross linking density brought about by
Epoxy toughening can be achieved amongst
the liquid epoxy resin is hereby combined
other ways by reaction-induced phase
with enhanced flexibility.
separation. The molecular weight and polarity
Epikote with hardener Ancamide 3201
of B-Tough C2 are designed to induce phase 1 week @RT
250
separation, while being compatible enough to Brittle 35

react. The rubbery particles are grafted in the 30

200
hard epoxy matrix and will not migrate to
Mandrel flexibility (mm)

25
the surface as is often the case with physically
König hardness (s)
150
blended toughening agents. Figure 1 illustrates 20

this induced phase separated morphology. 15

100

10
B-Tough C2 50
5

Epoxy matrix
Flexible 0 0
E1001 E828 E828 with
B-Tough C2 (5%
rubber content)
Figure 1. Epoxy matrix with B-Tough C2 particles Mandrel flexibility Hardness
(coating thickness 100␮m)
B-Tough C2 offers the following unique
Figure 2. Mandrel flexibility/hardness
benefits:
■ Improved flexibility while maintaining
Excellent impact resistance
hardness Excellent impact resistance will protect the
■ Excellent impact strength also at lower substrate and extend its lifetime, thereby
temperatures reducing costs and maintenance time.
■ Low viscosity– easy to formulate
■ Non-migratory due to epoxy
functionality

Croda Coatings & Polymers – your natural choice

 Low-viscous liquid epoxy systems Figure 4 illustrates that a rubber content of
demonstrate much lower impact resistance at 2,5% improves the flexibility significantly
room temperature due to their rigid without much effect on the hardness of the
structure, and in comparison to more flexible final film. A rubber content of maximum 5%
solid systems with their lower cross linking optimally improves flexibility.
density. B-Tough C2 can be applied in many epoxy
Epikote with hardener Ancamide 3201
1 week @RT
systems, cured at various temperatures. It has
200 also been demonstrated suitable and effective
174 in room temperature-cured coating systems.
Impact resistance (kg.cm)

150
Epikote 828 cured with Ancamide 3201
Direct
125 Brittle 35 1 week @RT 200
impact (25°C)
100 180
Indirect 30
impact (25°C) 160
75
Mandrel flexibility (mm)

25

König hardness (s)

Indirect 140
50
impact (4°C) 120
20
25
100
0 15
80
E1001 E828 E828 with
B-Tough C2 (5% 10 60
rubber content)
40
5
Figure 3. Impact resistance 20
Flexible 0 0
The soft rubbery B-Tough C2 particles that Ref (0%) 2.5% 5.0% 7.5%
Rubber content
are grafted in the hard epoxy matrix improve Mandrel flexibility
Hardness
(coating thickness 100␮m)
the impact resistance properties of the
coating. Figure 3 demonstrates the Figure 4. Effect of B-Tough C2 on hardness and flexibility
performance of direct and indirect impact Chemical resistance
strength. In the case of indirect impact, the
non-coated backside of the panel has been Modifying epoxy coatings with B-Tough C2
impacted. Formulations with B-Tough C2 does not affect chemical resistance, whereas
outperform the impact resistance of both resistance to high-polarity media such as
solid and liquid epoxy systems. Additionally, water and ethanol is actually improved.
B-Tough C2 significantly improves indirect Common flexibilisation has a negative effect
impact at low temperature conditions. As on chemical resistance, but the phase-
such, hardness, flexibility and impact resistance separated morphology allows the epoxy
can all be optimised simultaneously by system to maintain its properties.
addition of B-Tough C2. Product offering
Low-viscous – easy to formulate Croda offers B-Tough C2 as a toughening
B-Tough C2 has been specifically designed to agent for epoxy coatings. This toughening
provide ease of handling and formulation. The agent has the required benefits for
rubber content of B-Tough C2 is 40%. demanding marine & heavy-duty protective
B-Tough C2 is low-viscous and easy to use. application areas such as cargo holds, storage
The advantage of this low viscosity is that tanks, and floor coatings. The typical
formulations with 5% rubber show an characteristics are listed below:
increase in viscosity of only 10%. Depending
on the required properties, the formulator
can vary the amount of toughening agent.

Product code EEW (g/eq) Rubber content (%) Viscosity at 25°C (mPa.s)
B-Tough C2 1875 40 3100
Europe
email: coatings.eu@croda.com

Americas
email: marketing-usa@croda.com

Asia Pacific
email: sales.singapore@croda.com

For more information please visit: www.crodacoatingsandpolymers.com

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