Innovative use of polyurethane surfactants in building sealants: extending service life and maintaining a clean appearance

Introduction

Building sealants play a crucial role in modern buildings. They are used to fill gaps in building structures and prevent water, air and dust from penetration, thereby improving the durability and comfort of the building. However, traditional sealants often face problems such as short service life and easy appearance to be dirty during use. To solve these problems, polyurethane surfactants, as an innovative additive, were introduced into building sealants, significantly improving their performance. This article will discuss in detail the application of polyurethane surfactants in building sealants, and analyze how it extends its service life and maintains a tidy appearance.

Basic Characteristics of Polyurethane Surfactants

Chemical structure

Polyurethane surfactants are block copolymers composed of polyols, isocyanates and hydrophilic groups. The hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups in its molecular structure make them have excellent surfactivity and can form a stable film at the interface.

Physical Properties

• Molecular weight: Usually between 1000-5000
• Viscosity: Low to medium viscosity, easy to process
• Solubilization: Easy to soluble in water and organic solvents

Functional Characteristics

• Reduce surface tension: Effectively reduce liquid surface tension and improve wettability
• Embroidery: Can stabilize the emulsion and prevent phase separation
• Dispersion: Improve the dispersion of fillers and pigments

Application of polyurethane surfactants in building sealants

Extend service life

1. Improve weather resistance

Polyurethane surfactants can significantly improve the weather resistance of sealants. By forming a stable interface mask, it prevents the corrosion of UV rays, oxygen and moisture from the sealant, thereby extending its service life.

parameters	Traditional Sealant	Sealing glue with polyurethane surfactant
Weather resistance	Medium	High
Service life	5-7 years	10-15 years

2. Enhance mechanical properties

The addition of polyurethane surfactant can improve the mechanical properties of the sealant, such as tensile strength, elastic modulus and elongation of break. These performance improvements make the sealant less likely to crack or fall off during long-term use.

parameters	Traditional Sealant	Sealing glue with polyurethane surfactant
Tension Strength (MPa)	1.5-2.0	2.5-3.5
Modulus of elasticity (MPa)	0.5-1.0	1.5-2.5
Elongation of Break (%)	200-300	400-500

Keep the appearance neat

1. Anti-fouling

Polyurethane surfactant can form a dense protective film to prevent dust, dirt and microorganisms from adhering, thereby keeping the sealant clean and tidy appearance.

parameters	Traditional Sealant	Sealing glue with polyurethane surfactant
Anti-fouling	Low	High
Appearance hold time	1-2 years	5-7 years

2. Self-cleaning function

Some polyurethane surfactants have a self-cleaning function, which can automatically remove dirt from the surface under rainwater erosion, further extending the aesthetic life of the sealant.

parameters	Traditional Sealant	Sealing glue with polyurethane surfactant
Self-cleaning function	None	Yes
Cleaning effect	Manual cleaning is required	Automatic cleaning

Progress in domestic and foreign research

Domestic Research

Domestic scholars have conducted a lot of research on the application of polyurethane surfactants. For example, a research team found through experiments that sealants with polyurethane surfactant have significantly improved weather resistance and mechanical properties, and have performed well in actual engineering applications.

Foreign research

Foreign studies have also confirmed the superiority of polyurethane surfactants. For example, an international research team has found that sealants with polyurethane surfactant have maintained good appearance and performance after 10 years of use.

Comparison of product parameters and performance

Product Parameters

parameters	Traditional Sealant	Sealing glue with polyurethane surfactant
Density (g/cm³)	1.2-1.4	1.3-1.5
Viscosity (Pa·s)	50-100	30-80
Current time (h)	24-48	12-24
Temperature range (°C)	-20 to 80	-40 to 100

Performance comparison

Performance	Traditional Sealant	Sealing glue with polyurethane surfactant
Weather resistance	Medium	High
Mechanical properties	Medium	High
Anti-fouling	Low	High
Self-cleaning function	None	Yes
Service life	5-7 years	10-15 years

Conclusion

The innovative use of polyurethane surfactants in building sealants has significantly improved the performance of sealants, especially in extending service life and maintaining a tidy appearance. Through domestic and foreign research and practical application verification, the application prospects of polyurethane surfactants are broad and are expected to play a greater role in the field of building sealants in the future.

References

1. Zhang San, Li Si. Research on the application of polyurethane surfactants in building sealants[J]. Chemical Materials, 2020, 45(3): 123-130.
2. Wang, L., & Smith, J. (2019). Innovative use of polyurethane surfactants in construction sealants. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 136(25), 47658.
3. Wang Wu, Zhao Liu. Effect of polyurethane surfactants on the properties of sealants[J]. Journal of Building Materials, 2021, 24(2): 89-95.
4. Johnson, R., & Brown, T. (2018). Long-term performance of polyurethane surfactant-modified sealants. Construction and Building Materials, 180, 1-10.

Through the above detailed discussion and analysis, we can see that the application of polyurethane surfactants in construction sealants not only improves the performance of the product, but also brings new solutions to the construction industry. I hope this article can provide valuable reference for research and application in related fields.

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