The outstanding outdoor weatherability of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) solvent paints is well demonstrated by over 30 years of commercial use on premier architectural structures.
The outstanding outdoor weatherability of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) solvent paints is well demonstrated by over 30 years of commercial use on premier architectural structures.1 Commercial PVDF paints have a hybrid binder structure, being comprised of about 70 wt% PVDF and 30 wt% of a miscible acrylic resin in a semi-crystalline interpenetrating network (IPN)-type structure. The binder morphology is generated by baking at temperatures above 200°C, beginning from a non-aqueous dispersion of the PVDF in a latent solvent such as isophorone.2 The PVDF polymer itself is highly inert and is completely resistant to UV-A and UV-B radiation.3 In this context, for highly weatherable paints, it is the acrylic polymer that must be considered the "weak link" of the binder - even though the acrylics that are used are among the most weatherable non-fluorinated organic polymers.