To study the siccativation effects of metallocenes based on ferrocene and its derivatives as siccatives supporting their catalytic effects during meshing reactions proceeding during the creation of an alkyd resin film.
Siccatives are used as catalysts of auto‐oxidation reactions between a binder dried by oxidation and atmospheric oxygen. Without these substances, the auto‐oxidation of the binder would be slow and paint film drying would take too long. The cobalt salts of organic acids are currently the most efficient and most widely used siccatives. Present‐day ecological efforts are aimed at reducing the content of volatile organic substances in paints. One way to achieve this goal is the application of the so‐called high solids of binders that create thicker paint films. However, fast meshing throughout the whole paint layer remains their downside.
Ecological efforts are aimed at searching for the highly efficient catalysts of hardening reactions for paints dried by oxidation. This paper investigates the possibility of using metallocenes based on ferrocene and its derivatives as siccatives for paints dried by oxidation. Their catalytic properties, mainly their synergic effects with cobalt siccative, were monitored in model binders by means of Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy and by measuring the hardness of created paint films. The data found in regard with the catalytic effects of ferrocene and some of its derivatives were compared with the activity of cobalt siccative alone.
The siccatives under scrutiny can be conveniently used to accelerate the formation of alkyd paints modified with natural oils, be it for industrial or decorative purposes. It was discovered that acetylferrocene has excellent siccativation effects that can be realistically used in industry. Its application allows for reducing the cobalt salt content in paint as much as ten times, which has major ecological significance.
The method of detecting the kinetic parameters of the meshing reactions of alkyls described in the paper is relatively new and facilitates identification of siccatives that are optimum for specific paints formulations. Research into ecologically acceptable ferrocene and its derivatives as catalysts of paints dried by oxidation is also beneficial.
