Polyurea Coatings

Since polyurea was discovered in the 1980s, it has occupied an important place among industrial coating materials. This technology, developed in America, has spread rapidly in Europe and particularly in Asia.

Polyurea materials are defined as elastomeric structures obtained as a result of the reaction of polyamines and amine-based chain extenders with aromatic or aliphatic isocyanate prepolymers. Due to the high reactivity of amine and isocyanate, polyurea materials formed within seconds are structures that can be rapidly cured even at low temperatures. With its fast-curing property, it creates impermeable surfaces on vertical surfaces and in areas requiring thick application without additional filling. Polyurea materials are preferred coating products due to their high hardness and flexibility, superior resistance to chemicals and water, resistance to weather conditions and abrasion. Additionally, its structure free of volatile organic compounds provides an environmentally friendly coating option.1 Polyurea coatings are generally used on surfaces such as concrete and steel to increase resistance to corrosion and abrasion. Application areas include roads, bridges, parking lots, various industrial surfaces, pipes, roofs, commercial vehicle coatings, pools and drinking water tanks. Due to the fast curing of polyurea, special spray equipment capable of operating at high pressure (160-170 bar) and temperature (70°C-80°C) is used for application. Although the use of a special spray machine for polyurea initially appeared to be a disadvantage, the ability to coat very large areas in a short time has turned this into an advantage. 2 In addition, polyurea materials provide advantages over other polyurethane-based coating materials with their high reactivity, moisture tolerance, low-temperature curing capability, and excellent physical and chemical properties. 3 Polyurea coating materials also have the longest service life among coating materials. Due to the diversity of application areas, wide range of application temperatures, excellent adhesion to different surfaces, high resistance to heat and impacts, and resistance to different weather conditions, it is the most preferred coating material. Polyurea products are two-component systems; if they contain only urea groups in the chain structure, they are called pure polyurea; if they contain both urea and urethane groups together, they are called hybrid polyurea.4 Figure 1 shows the polyurethane and polyurea reaction.5

Figure 1. Polyurethane and polyurea chemical reaction5

Research on spray polyurea materials, commonly used to provide waterproofing and corrosion resistance, has become increasingly diverse.6,7 Spray polyurea materials found in different application areas in the coating industry have been found to demonstrate superior resistance to harsh chemical environments and mechanical stresses encountered in seawater. For this reason, in recent years, their use in structures exposed to seawater and ship coatings has shown significant growth.8 Due to all these properties of polyurea materials, which can easily adapt to technological developments, research into their potential use in many different fields is proceeding at a rapid pace.

Pure Polyurea- Creacase C-221- Creanate CI-05

Pure polyurea is a flexible spray coating material formed as a result of the reaction of an isocyanate-based prepolymer with a multifunctional amine mixture. Its structure free of volatile organic compounds provides environmentally friendly coating options. It exhibits excellent performance in terms of mechanical and chemical properties. With its fast-curing property, it provides seamless, waterproof applications on vertical surfaces and in areas requiring thick application.

Hybrid Polyurea- Creacase C-123- Creanate CI-05

An environmentally friendly (VOC-free) flexible spray coating material designed with the perfect combination of polyurethane and polyurea structures. This product, which can be safely used in waterproofing applications, demonstrates high mechanical and chemical performance.

The above-mentioned products have CE certification and drinking water compliance certificates.

1. References 1. Dudley J. Primeaux II, Primeaux Associates LLC, 2004 2. PDA Europe, Code of Good Pratice,2014 3. M. Broekaert, Huntsman International LLC, 2002 4. A. Szafran, J., Matusiak, J. Int. Assoc. Shell Spat. Struct., 2016, 43, 67–68. 5. Whelton, A., Salehi, M., Tabor, M., Donaldson, B., Estaba, J., J. Environ. Eng. 2013.139:746-756 6. N. Iqbal, M. Tripathi, S. Parthasarathy, D. Kumar and P. K. Roy, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 109706–109717. 7. N. Iqbal, D. Kumar and P. K. Roy, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2018, 135, 1–8. 8. K. Che, P. Lyu, F. Wan and M. Ma, Materials, 2019, 12(21), 3636

Dr. Rahmet Parıltı R&D Specialist Flokser Kimya