Toagosei Annual R&D Report “TREND” – Issue No. 4

We have developed new acrylic polymers using the Uniform Functional Oligomer (UFO) technology. The UFO technology is an advancement of the Solid Grade Oligomer (SGO, hightemperature continuous bulk polymerization) process originally licensed from Johnson Polymer in the U.S. Since it uses almost no polymerization solvents, polymerization initiators, chain transfer agents, or similar reagents, it efficiently produces impurity-free polymers that are useful for addressing environmental and resource concerns. This makes it ideal for applications requiring weather resistance, yellowing resistance, and low odor. Specifically, applications in paints that require high weather resistance, dispersants that require low odor and low viscosity, binders for inks, and OPVs are being explored1).

We use this UFO technology to produce a variety of acrylic polymers and market them under the trade name “ARUFON.”

In this article, we focus on sealants, which are one of the applications of solvent-free liquid polymers, and describe the characteristics of ARUFON polymers produced with UFO technology. Sealants using ARUFON exhibit excellent performance in terms of weather resistance, prevention of plasticizer bleeding, and prevention of paint contamination.