FLOOR COATING COMPOSITIONS

Abstract

The invention relates to the use of Real Michael Addition (RMA) crosslinkable composition for the preparation of a floor coating, to special RMA crosslinkable compositions with long working time and very short service time and low VOC and to specific floor compositions, in particular for use in high build floor coating applications.

Claims

1. Use of a Real Michael Addition (RMA) crosslinkable composition for the preparation of a floor coating, said RMA crosslinkable composition comprising at least one crosslinkable component comprising reactive components A and B each comprising at least 2 reactive groups wherein the at least 2 reactive groups of component A are acidic protons (CH) in activated methylene or methine groups, and the at least 2 reactive groups of component B are activated unsaturated groups (CC) which reactive groups react to achieve crosslinking by RMA reaction between said at least one crosslinkable components in the presence of a base catalyst (C), preferably comprising a reactivity moderator D comprising an XH group that is also a Michael addition donor reactable with component B under the action of catalyst C, wherein X is C, N, P, O or S to improve open time and preferably an alcohol with 2 to 12 carbon atoms to improve potlife.

2. The use according to claim 1 for direct coating on concrete floors without a sealing layer, for application of a top-coating over a conventional sealer layer which is based on one or more resins including epoxy, phenolic, silane, acrylics, polyurethane, polyurea, polyaspartic resins and their hybrids or for coating wood floors, in particular gymnasium floors, vinyl floors, terrazo floors, cork floors, phenolic floors or metal floors.

3. The use according to claim 1 or 2 for coating surfaces in out-door applications, in particular when temperatures are lower than 15 C. or the relative humidity higher than 85% RV or when the coating substrate surface is moist.

4. A RMA crosslinkable composition for the preparation of a floor coating composition, said RMA crosslinkable composition comprising at least one crosslinkable component comprising reactive components A and B each comprising at least 2 reactive groups wherein the at least 2 reactive groups of component A are acidic protons (CH) in activated methylene or methine groups, and the at least 2 reactive groups of component B are activated unsaturated groups (CC) which reactive groups react to achieve crosslinking by Real Michael Addition (RMA) reaction between said at least one crosslinkable components in the presence of a base catalyst (C) wherein the amount of volatile solvent is between 0 and 20, 15, 10, 5 and preferably even less than 1 wt % relative to the total of the crosslinkable components A and B and preferably further comprising a reactivity moderator D comprising an XH group that is also a Michael addition donor reactable with component B under the action of catalyst C, wherein X is C, N, P, O or S and preferably also an alcohol with 2 to 12 carbon atoms.

5. The RMA crosslinkable composition of claim 4 comprising one or more reactive solvents which react with crosslinkable components A or B, which are preferably selected from the group of monomeric or dimeric components A, monomeric or dimeric components B, compounds A having only 1 reactive acidic protons (CH) in activated methylene or methine groups, compounds B having only 1 reactive unsaturated groups (CC), most preferably acetoacetate, malonate or an acryloyl.

6. The RMA crosslinkable composition of claim 4 or 5 wherein the total amount of volatile organic solvent plus reactive solvents is between 0 and 30 wt % and the volatile organic solvent is less than 5 wt % tot the total weight of the RMA composition.

7. The RMA crosslinkable composition of claims 4-6 wherein the one or more crosslinkable components are one or more polymers chosen from the group of polyesters, alkyds, polyurethanes, polyacrylates, epoxy resins, polyamides and polyvinyl resins which contains components A or B in the main chain, pendant, terminal or combinations thereof preferably polymeric components with a weight average molecular weight II, of at least 250 g/mol, preferably a polymer having M.sub.w between 250, 300 and 15000, more preferably between 400 and 10000 or 500 and 10000 g/mol.

8. The RMA crosslinkable composition of claims 4-7 wherein reactive component A is malonate or acetoacetate and reactive component B is acryloyl

9. The RMA crosslinkable composition of claims 4-8 wherein reactive component A in the crosslinkable component predominantly comprises one type of reactive components, predominantly meaning preferably more than 50, 75, 90 and most preferably 100% of the CH reactive groups in crosslinkable component A are from one type of reactive component, preferably malonate or acetoacetate and most preferably consisting predominantly of malonate and acetoacetate or acetylacetone as remainder.

10. The RMA crosslinkable composition of claims 4-9 wherein the XH group in component D, preferably an NH group containing component, has a pKa (defined in aqueous environment) of at least one unit, preferably two units, less than that of the CH groups in predominant component A and preferably the pKa of the XH group in component D is lower than 13, preferable lower than 12, more preferably lower than 11, most preferably lower than 10; it is preferably higher than 7, more preferably 8, more preferably higher than 8.5.

11. A floor coating composition comprising the RMA crosslinkable composition of claims 4-10 not including the catalyst C, for use in combination with a catalyst C, and further floor coating additives, which can be a clear floor coating composition without pigments or filler, a pigmented floor coating composition or a high build floor coating composition comprising particulate filler (having course particles other than pigments).

12. A floor coating composition for high build floor coatings comprising a. 50-95, preferably 55, 60 65 or 70 up to 95, 90, 85 or 80 wt % of a solid particulate filler, b. 5-50, preferably 10, 15 or 20 up to 50 wt % of a resin from a RMA crosslinkable composition of claims 4-10, c. less than 100, preferably less than 75, 50 or 25 gr/ltr volatile organic solvents, d. 0-20 wt % of a reactive solvent, wherein wt % is relative to the total weight of components a-d, wherein wt % b) is the sum of resin forming components A and B not including components a), c) or d).

13. The floor coating composition of claim 12 wherein at least 50 wt % of the solid particulate filler has a diameter of between 0.5 and 20 mm and the solid filler preferably are one or more selected from the group of inorganic, wood, metal or polymer particles, for example sand, saw dust, gravel, pebbles, PVC chips, plastic waste recycle, sea shells, glass, gypsum.

14. The floor coating composition of claims 11-13 wherein catalyst C is a carbon dioxide blocked strong base catalyst, preferably a quaternary alkyl ammonium bi- or alkylcarbonate (as described in EP2556108), for use in coating layers with a thickness up to 500, 400, 300, 200 or 150 micrometer or catalyst C is a homogeneously active strong base catalyst (i.e. not of the surface deblocking type as in claim 26) for use in coating layers with a thickness from 150, 200 or 300 up to 2000, 1500, 1000 or 10,000 micrometer.

15. A kit of parts for preparation of a floor coating composition comprising a. One or more filler parts, comprising the solid filler particles, b. One or more parts comprising components of the RMA coating composition of claims 4-10 not containing catalyst C c. One or more parts containing catalyst C.

Description

EXAMPLES

[0058] The following is a description of certain embodiments of the invention, given by way of example only. The first series of examples A relate to flooring compositions comprising a carbon dioxide blocked base catalyst (i.e. a salt of a quaternary ammonium and an alkyl-substituted carbonate) for use in relatively thin layers. The resin characteristics are shown in Table 1, the catalyst composition in Table 2 and the coating formulation (composition) in Table 3. The components A of the RMA crosslinkable composition used in the formulation were malonated polyesters and malonated alkyds. The components B of the RMA crosslinkable composition are trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA) or di-trimethylolpropane tetra-acrylate (DiTMPTA), which were mixed in the formulation as a pre-mix with the pigment paste or separately or both.

[0059] The second series of examples B relate to flooring compositions for use in relatively thick layers some using the same blocked catalyst as described above (Ex B3 and B7) but also another type of component A and also a different catalyst that does not generate carbon dioxide (DABCO epoxy). The floor coating composition characteristics are shown in Table 4. The component A of the RMA crosslinkable composition used in the formulations is an acetoacetate modified polyol and malonate modified polyesters. The component B of the RMA crosslinkable composition is DiTMPTA, which were mixed in the formulation as a pre-mix with the pigment paste or separately or both.

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 1 Resin characteristics Malonated Malonated Malonated Malonated Resin Polyester 1 Polyester 2 Alkyd 1 % Solids 85% 100% 99.5% Viscosity (cps) 7,500 5,000 10,000 Color APHA <100 <100 <300 Equivalent Wt. (CH)* 180 171 175 Acid Value (mg <0.8 <0.8 <1 KOH/g) *based on resin solids

Malonated Polyester Resin 1 Preparation

[0060] Malonated polyester resin 1 is a polyester resin which has been trans-esterified with diethyl-malonate. This resin is prepared as follows: Into a reactor provided with a distilling column filed with Raschig rings were brought 382 g of neopentyl glycol, 262.8 g of hexahydrophthalic anhydride and 0.2 g of butyl stannoic acid. The mixture was polymerised at 240 C. under nitrogen to an acid value of 0.2 mg KOH/g. The mixture was cooled down to 130 C. and 355 g of diethylmalonate was added. The reaction mixture was heated to 170 C. and ethanol was removed under reduced pressure. The obtained resins were further cooled and diluted with butyl acetate to 85% solids.

Malonated Polyester Resin 2 Preparation

[0061] Malonated polyester resin 2 is a polyester resin which has been trans-esterified with diethyl-malonate. This resin is prepared as follows: Into a reactor provided with a distilling column filed with Raschig rings were brought 1804 g of neopentyl glycol, 1238 g of hexahydrophthalic anhydride and 1.0 g of butyl stannoic acid. The mixture was polymerised at 240 C. under nitrogen to an acid value of <1 mg KOH/g. The mixture was cooled down to 130 C. and 1353 g of diethylmalonate was added. The reaction mixture was heated to 180 C. and ethanol was removed at atmospheric pressure. The obtained resins had a final resin solids content of 90.0% in 10% diethyl malonate. The viscosity of the product is 22,100 cPs.

Malonated Alkyd 1

[0062] A three-liter, four-necked reaction flask equipped with a condenser, agitator, heating mantle, sampling tube, thermocouple attached to a thermowatch and toluene-primed Dean-Stark trap was charged with 349.91 parts coconut fatty acid, 395.47 parts trimethylolpropane, 62.73 parts pentaerythritol, 100.10 parts of phthalic anhydride, 93.60 parts of Adipic acid and 0.94 parts of dibutyltin oxide and sparged with nitrogen at 0.5 standard cubic feet per hour (SCFH) for 15 minutes without agitation followed by 15 minutes with agitation. The reaction mixture was then heated to 450-455 F., discontinuing the nitrogen flow at the onset of distillation. The mixture was held at 450-455 F. for an acid value of <1 adding toluene as needed to maintain a steady reflux. Once the acid value was reached, the mixture was cooled to 180 F. under a nitrogen blanket. 742.89 parts of dimethyl malonate were added to the reaction mixture, a packed column was added to the reactor and the Dean-Stark trap drained. The resin was heated to 330 F. and held until methanol distillation ceased. The nitrogen sparge was then increased to 2.0 SCFH to remove the azeotrope solvent and the resin cooled and filtered. The resulting malonate-functional resin contained 11.4% residual dimethyl malonate and had a Gardner-Holdt viscosity of Z1-Z2 with an acid value of 0.5 and an APHA color of 98. The number average molecular weight was 1490 with a weight average molecular weight was 8530.

[0063] The catalyst was prepared as described in EP2556108 (catalyst C5). The composition is in Table 2:

TABLE-US-00003 Component Catalyst 1 Aqueous TBAH 44.60 (55%) DI Water 4.90 Diethyl carbonate 20.10 n-propanol 30.40

[0064] Formulations A to F were prepared from the components mentioned in Table 3 by mixing the components and pre-dissolved components as indicated. The usual coating additives not explicitly identified and described are well known commercially available components for levelling, anti-foaming (Foamstar ST-2446), surfactants (Byk 310: 315 1:4), colorants (Chroma Chem 844-9955), surface modifiers (Silmer ACR-D2).

TABLE-US-00004 TABLE 3 the Formulations A to H Formulation Component A B C D E F G H Malonated polyester 1 28.72 63.31 0 0 0 0 0 Malonated polyester 2 65.29 63.61 Malonated Alkyd 1 0 0 12.11 43.85 57.22 38.52 0 0 Acetoacetate functional 0 0 3.93 7.71 0 6.80 0 0 TMP *1 Pigment paste 1 * 48.53 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pigment paste 2 ** 0 0 46.49 0 0 0 0 0 Miwon Miramer M410 *2 0.53 0 0 0 0 17.55 0 0 Miwon Miramer M300 *3 0 31.23 16.62 32.67 28.89 14.37 34.71 33.82 Pre-dissolve: 1,2,4-triazole 0.42 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n-propanol 6.04 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pre-dissolve: 1,2,4-triazole 0 0 0.43 0 0 0 0 0.97 n-Methyl pryrrolidone 0 0 0.69 0 0 0 0 3.06 Pre-dissolve: Succinimide 0.20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 n-Methyl pryrrolidone 1.62 0 0 0 0 0 0 Subsequently add n-Butyl Acetate 2.41 0 0 5.13 4.52 0 0 0 n-Butanol 0 0 0 10.02 8.82 8.50 0 0 Glycerin 0 0 0 0.26 0.23 0 0 0 Foamstar ST-2446 0 0 0 0.32 0.28 0 0 0 Byk 310:315 1:4 0.24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chroma Chem 844-9955 0.89 0 0.8 0 0 0 0 0 Silmer ACR-D2 0.06 0.13 0.10 0.05 0.04 0.11 0 0 Dimethyl carbonate 5.17 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hexyl acetate 5.17 0 18.83 0 0 0 0 0 Methyl Amyl Ketone 0 0 0 0 0 8.50 0 0 Mineral Spirits 0 0 0 0 0 5.66 0 0 * Pigment Paste 1 mix 32.0% of Miramer M410 with 65.1% of Kronos 2310 (*4) and 2.9% of Disperbyk 163 and grind until the particle size is smaller than 10 m ** Pigment Paste 1 mix 22.3% of Malonate functional alkyd with 74.53% of Kronos 2310, 2.98% of Disperbyk 163, and 0.18% of FC-4430 then grind until the particle size is smaller than 10 m *1 TMP is trimethylolpropane *2 Miwon Miramer M410 is Di-TMPTA (Di-Trimethylolpropanetetra acrylate) component B *3 Miwon Miramer M300 is TMPTA (Trimethylolpropane Triacrylate) component B *4 Kronos 2310 is titanium dioxide

Example A 1

[0065] 200 grams of Formulation A was mixed with 4.1 grams of Catalyst 1 and then rolled onto a concrete floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes with a dry film thickness of 75 microns. The potlife of the mixed Formulation was more than 4 hours. The next day adhesion was determined to be very good using the cross-cut adhesion test as described in ASTM D3359. Adhesion was also tested per ASTM D7234; failure was within the concrete at over 800 psi. The coatings passed 100+ MEK double rubs and passed the 24 hours Skydrol spot test.

[0066] 200 grams of Formulation A was mixed with 4.1 grams of Catalyst 1 and then trowelled onto a concrete floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes.

[0067] 200 grams of Formulation A was mixed with 4.1 grams of Catalyst 1 and then applied to a concrete floor using a squeegee. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes.

[0068] 200 grams of Formulation A was mixed with 4.1 grams of Catalyst 1 and then applied to freshly poured concrete that was 24 hours old using a brush. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes. The next day adhesion was determined to be very good using the cross-cut adhesion test as described in ASTM D3359.

Example A 2

[0069] 200 grams of Formulation B was mixed with 10.7 grams of Catalyst 1 and then trowelled onto a concrete floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes with a dry film thickness of 75 microns.

[0070] 200 grams of Formulation B was mixed with 10.7 grams of Catalyst 1 and then cast into a metal substrate. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes and was measured to be 2,000 m thick without any inclusion of bubbles.

Example A 3

[0071] 200 grams of Formulation C was mixed with 4.8 grams of Catalyst 1 and then rolled onto a concrete floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes with a dry film thickness of 75 microns. The next day adhesion was determined to be very good using the cross-cut adhesion test as described in ASTM D3359.

[0072] 200 grams of Formulation C was mixed with 4.8 grams of Catalyst 1 and then trowelled onto a concrete floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes.

[0073] 200 grams of Formulation C was mixed with 4.8 grams of Catalyst 1 and then brushed onto a wood floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes. The resulting coating has a gloss of 85+ on a 20 degree angle gloss meter, excellent brilliance and wood warmth and a high abrasion resistance.

Example A 4

[0074] 200 grams of Formulation D was mixed with 9.5 grams of Catalyst 1 and then rolled onto a concrete floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes with a dry film thickness of 75 microns. The potlife of the mixed Formulation was more than 4 hours. The next day adhesion was determined to be very good using the cross-cut adhesion test as described in ASTM D3359. Adhesion was also tested per ASTM D7234; failure was within the concrete at over 900 psi. The coatings passed 100+ MEK double rubs and hence shows good chemical resistance.

[0075] 200 grams of Formulation D was mixed with 9.5 grams of Catalyst 1 and then trowelled onto a concrete floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes.

[0076] 200 grams of Formulation D was mixed with 9.5 grams of Catalyst 1 and then squeegeed onto a wood floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes.

[0077] 200 grams of Formulation D was mixed with 9.5 grams of Catalyst 1 and then sprayed onto a vinyl floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes

Example A 5

[0078] 200 grams of Formulation D was mixed with 9.5 grams of Catalyst 1 and then rolled over a terrazzo floor. The coating had a 20 gloss of 85+ with good appearance of colors.

Example A 6

[0079] 200 grams of Formulation F was mixed with 9.5 grams of Catalyst 1 and then rolled onto a wood floor. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 50 minutes with a dry film thickness of 75 microns. The pot life of the mixed Formulation was more than 4 hours. The next day adhesion was determined to be very good using the cross-cut adhesion test as described in ASTM D3359. The coating had a 20 gloss of 85, a Konig Pendulum hardness of 98, and passed 400 MEK double rubs and hence shows good chemical resistance.

Example B1. Modified Castor Oil Based Polyol

[0080] In a round bottomed flask, equipped with a stirrer, heating mantle and distillation column, 250 grams of Setathane D 1150, a castor oil based polyol, commercially available from Nuplex Resins GmbH, 89.80 grams of ethyl acetoacetate were added together with 0.11 grams of Fascat 4100, a tin-based catalyst obtainable from PMC Organometallix. The mixture was heated under nitrogen sparge and ethanol started distilling a temperature of about 160 C. 28 grams of alcohol was collected. The reaction product was cooled down to room temperature. It was a clear, amber colored liquid with a hydroxyl value of 14 mg KOH/g and a viscosity of 3,450 cPa.Math.s. Molecular weights were determined using size exclusion chromatography: M.sub.n=1590 and M.sub.w=2530. Methylene equivalent weight was 446 g.

Example B 2. Blocked TBAH Catalyst Solution in Iso-Propanol

[0081] A catalyst solution was prepared by mixing 80.30 grams of tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (55% aqueous solution) with 67.40 grams of iso-propanol and 110.50 grams of diethyl carbonate.

Example B 3. Self-Levelling Flooring Compound

[0082] In a vacuum dissolver, the ingredients given in table 1 were stirred at a speed of approximately 5 m/s in a vacuum below <200 mbar until a fineness below 20 micron is obtained. The vacuum is released and the compound is homogenized for another 3 minutes.

TABLE-US-00005 TABLE 1 Self-levelling flooring compound. Resin from Example B 1 900.00 Barytes EWO* 1,280.00 Tronox R-KB-2** 148.00 Bayferrox 130M*** 15.40 Bayferrox 920*** 25.10 Resin from example B 1 300.00 Dynoadd 711**** 3.74 Di-trimethylolpropane tetracrylate 500.00 Benzotriazole (8.5% in methyl ethyl ketone) 164.00 *Sachtleben Chemie GmbH **Tronox Limited ***Lanxess AG ****Dynea

[0083] Table 1 describes the components of the self-levelling flooring compound. Resin example B1 is 2 times in Table 1 as it was added in 2 separate steps. One before and one after the pigment dispersing step.

[0084] To this compound the catalyst solution from Example B 2 was added in three different concentrations: 3.5, 7.0 and 10.4%. Films were applied onto glass plates and using a BK drying recorder the time required for the compound to gel was determined. This time was respectively: 90, 20 and 15 minutes. This indicates that the working time of the self-levelling compound can be tuned by selecting the appropriate concentration of catalyst.

[0085] The compounds were also poured in a polyethylene dish at a thickness of 5 mm and left to cure overnight. After being removed from the polyethylene dish, a flexible elastomeric coating was obtained.

Example B 4. Low Solvent Strong Base Catalyst

[0086] To 64.00 grams of Cardura E10P (glycidyl ester of a highly branched saturated carboxylic acid containing 10 carbon atoms obtainable from Momentive), 90 grams of DABCO 33LV (a mixture of 33% triethylene diamine and 67% dipropylene glycol obtainable from Air Products) were added to obtain a strong base catalyst solution in dipropylene glycol.

Example B 5. Self-Levelling Flooring Compound

[0087] Similar to the procedure given in Example B 3, a self-levelling flooring compound was prepared by mixing the ingredients given in table 1, but omitting the benzotriazole solution. To this compound, the low solvent strong base catalyst solution from Example B 4 was added in three different concentrations: 2.8, 5.5 and 8.3%. Films were applied onto glass plates and using a BK drying recorder the time required for the compound to gel (phase II) was determined. This time was respectively: 240, 90 and 60 minutes. This indicates that the working time of the self-levelling compound can be tuned by selecting the appropriate concentration of catalyst. The compounds were also poured in a polyethylene dish at a thickness of 5 mm and left to cure overnight. After being removed from the polyethylene dish, a flexible elastomeric coating was obtained.

Example B 6. Solvent-Free Malonate Modified Polyester Resin

[0088] In a reactor, equipped with a stirrer, heating mantle and distillation column, 3608 grams of neopentyl glycol and 2476 grams of hexahydro phthalic anhydride together with 400 grams of water and 2.06 grams of dibutyl tindioxide were mixed and heated to 240 C. under nitrogen sparge. The esterification was continued until an acid value of 0.63 mg KOH/g was found. The contents of the reactor were cooled down to 120 C. and 3346 grams of diethyl malonate were added. The contents of the reactor were heated and ethanol was distilled off. In total 1566 g of ethanol distillate was recovered. The resulting malonate modified polyester resin was a clear, slightly yellow viscous liquid. Molecular weights were determined using size exclusion chromatography: M.sub.n=1751 and M.sub.w=3341. The contents of the reactor were further diluted with 836 grams of diethyl malonate, acting as a reactive diluent.

Example B 7. White Floor-Coating

[0089] In a high speed disperser, 160 grams of di-trimethylolpropane tetraacrylate, 140 grams of the resin from Example B 6, 20 grams of Disperbyk 163 (obtainable from Byk-Chemie GmbH) and 620 grams of Kronos 2310 (titanium dioxide from Kronos Inc.) were dispersed until a fineness below 20 micron was obtained. To this mixture an additional 170 grams of di-trimethylolpropane tetraacrylate and 314 grams of the resin from Example B 6 and 22 grams of a 15% solution of 1,2,4 triazole in n-propanol were added under low shear mixing conditions.

[0090] A low-solvent catalyst solution was prepared by mixing 57 grams of tetrabutyl ammonium hydroxide (55% solution in water) with 15 grams of diethyl carbonate. An additional 28 grams of demineralized water was added to prevent crystallization of the catalyst.

[0091] To the white floor-coating, 5.25% of the catalyst solution described above was added under mixing.

[0092] Applied to a glass panel at a wet layer thickness of 125 micron, the coating was hard-dry after 30 minutes. Persoz hardness after 90 minutes was 90 seconds, after 165 minutes it was 141 seconds. The coating, kept in a container with a closed lid was still liquid after two hours. The coating was also roller applied direct onto concrete slabs, both dry and wet. Again the coating dried hard in 30 minutes irrespective of the humidity of the substrate. A second coat of the same formulation could be applied after 90 minutes without distorting the previous coat. A third coat could be applied after 150 minutes and dried hard in 30 minutes. Consequently it is possible to build-up a floor-coating in only 5 hours.

[0093] The coating was also applied on both aged polyurethane and epoxy coatings after sanding the surface. Both dry and wet adhesion, tested according to Gitterschnitt (DIN EN ISO 2409) was perfect (Gt=0).

Example B 8. Low VOC Self-Levelling Flooring Compound

[0094] A compound was made according to Example B 7, but without the 1,2,4 triazole solution. This compound was mixed with 8.8% of the low solvent strong base catalyst from Example B 4.

[0095] The compound was cast in a polyethylene dish at a layer thickness of 4 mm. The compound dried to a Shore D hardness of 78 after 4 hours. Overnight the Shore D hardness was 90.

Example B 9. Low VOC Self-Levelling Flooring Compound

[0096] 100 grams of Formulation G was mixed with 5.7 grams of Catalyst 1 and then cast into an aluminum pan. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 10 minutes. The potlife of the mixed Formulation was less than 1 hour. The next day the thickness of the casting was measured to be 6 mm and was determined to be free of bubbles. The self-levelling compound was thoroughly cured at the bottom.

Example B 10. Low VOC Self-Levelling Flooring Compound

[0097] 100 grams of Formulation H was mixed with 5.5 grams of Catalyst 1 and then cast into an aluminum pan. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 30 minutes. The potlife of the mixed Formulation was over 1 hour. The next day the thickness of the casting was measured to be 4 mm and was determined to be free of bubbles. The self-levelling compound was thoroughly cured at the bottom.

Example B 11. Low VOC Flooring Compound

[0098] 100 grams of Formulation H was diluted with 10 grams of butyl acetate and mixed with 5.5 grams of Catalyst 1. The formulation was rolled on an outside concrete surface when the substrate temperature was 10 C. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 2 hours. The potlife of the mixed Formulation was over 1 hour.

Example B 12. Low VOC Flooring Compound

[0099] 100 grams of Formulation H was mixed with 5.5 grams of Catalyst 1 and then rolled on a concrete surface and placed in an environmental chamber at a relative humidity of 90%. The Formulation was thoroughly dry after 4 hours. The dry film thickness was 50 microns. The potlife of the mixed Formulation was over 1 hour.