The Waterborne Symposium

Abstract
Confocal Microscopy Techniques for Coatings Research
Co-authors: Dana Garcia and Jeffrey Schneider

Microscopy and vibrational spectroscopy are complementary techniques.  The combination of the two can provide the most complete information regarding distributions of different coatings ingredients as well as the fate and impact of liquids or particulates that come in contact with the dried coating films.
This paper reports the applications of confocal Raman microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy in coatings research.  Due to their chemical specificity and high-resolution spatial analysis, they are powerful tools for determining chemical composition and component distribution of multi-component coatings systems.  These two techniques are employed to analyze and solve common coatings problems such as surfactant leaching, stain resistance, and washability. The usefulness and advantages of these confocal techniques are demonstrated by the examples given in this paper.