The UV-screening properties of coating layers : The influence of pigments, binders and additives

The ability of coating colours to obstruct ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the 300-385 nm region was examined with the aim of finding the best photo-stabilising formulation to inhibit discoloration of high-yield pulps. The influence of pigment type, bleaching of the pigments, pigment size, pigment size distribution, type of binder and addition of U-V-absorbing compounds were examined using a newly developed method for studying the reflectance and transmittance properties of thin coating layers. The pigment type and coat weight was found to be the most important factors for reducing the transmittance of UV-radiation. Kaolin clays were more effective than calcium carbonate pigments and are therefore a better coating pigment for photostability reasons. Bleaching of the pigments, resulted in an overall minor decrease in transmittance for both kaolin and ground calcium carbonate (GCC) pigments, especially at low coat weights. Bleaching of the pigments changed the particle size distribution somewhat, which probably alters the structure in the coating layer. Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) pigments have a higher UV-screening potential compared to GCC pigments and should therefore be a better choice among the calcium carbonates. It was further concluded that a narrow pigment size distribution was beneficial for reducing the amount of transmitted UV-radiation that reaches the base paper. Styrene butadiene latex and polyvinylpyrrolidone were better in reducing the transmittance in the UV-region than polyvinyl alcohol. Adding a fluorescent whitening agent to a coating colour decreased the transmittance in the UV-region when the pigment was of the GCC type, and increased the transmittance when kaolin pigment was used. Addition of titanium dioxide (3 parts) to a coating colour containing kaolin pigment blocked about 90% of the UV-radiation at a coat weight of 10 g/m(2), which is a common coat weight for a single coated paper. Another possibility is to double coat to increase the coat weight, which turns the transmittance factor closed to zero