ACRYSOL™ Rheology Modifiers

ACRYSOL™ Rheology Modifiers: Shear Genius

Color trends may come and go, but rheology makes a lasting impression on consumer paint preference. How the paint feels when it’s stirred, poured and applied to the wall creates a signature experience that helps define and enhance your brand.

History of Innovation
Dow introduced the paint and coatings industry to associative thickening with ACRYSOL™ HASE and HEUR Rheology Modifiers. Now we’re taking rheology to new performance levels with ACRYSOL™ RM-400 and ACRYSOL™ RM-995. These next-generation KU builders support near-zero-VOC targets while offering breakthrough sag/flow balance, no-drip sag resistance, excellent flow and leveling, higher film build and uniformity, and improved viscosity stability upon tinting (vs. conventional HEUR technology).

  • 1980 :Dow introduces associate thickening.
  • 1990 : Dow launches solvent-free ACRYSOL™ HEURs.
  • 2000 : Dow develops DESIGNED RHEOLOGY™ HASEs to replace HEC
  • 2010 : Dow invests ACID SUPRESSION™ Technology for easy-pouring HEURs with no added surfactant.
  • 2013: Dow launches new family of easy-pouring, high-performance HEURs with breakthrough sag/flow balance.

Ranges of Shear
ACRYSOL™ Rheology Modifiers offer low-, mid- and high-shear solutions that adapt to changing shear rates. They offer a broad range of thickeners to help you achieve your brand’s formulation goals and VOC targets.

ACRYSOL™ HASE Rheology Modifiers contain a balance of methacrylic acid and acrylate ester. They are supplied at high-volume solids in liquid form. Thickening is triggered by a change from low to high pH. ACRYSOL™ HASE Thickeners are steeply shear thinning and well-suited to high-viscosity, thick-film applications, such as caulks, mastics, EIFS finishes, driveway sealers and craft paints.

ACRYSOL™ HASE Rheology Modifiers build viscosity through the association of hydrophobes. They are better suited than ASE to more water-sensitive applications and offer a wider variety of rheology profiles. ACRYSOL™ HASE Rheology Modifiers are compatible with multiple-binder chemistries. They are particularly suited to interior paints, where they offer a range of key performance properties, including flow and leveling, sag resistance, and film build.

ACRYSOL™ HEUR Rheology Modifiers employ a three-dimensional associative network, which imparts a degree of associative thickening notably higher than that of HASE thickeners. It’s also why they offer exceptional flow and leveling. Additionally, ACRYSOL™ HEURs offer high film-build, spatter resistance and syneresis control in a wide variety of latex binders. They are particularly well-suited to high-gloss and semi-gloss formulations as well as applications where water resistance is key.

How It Works

HEURs are highly efficient KU builders but must be manufactured with added solvent or surfactant to reduce as-supplied viscosity to manageable levels. ACID SUPPRESSION™ Technology developed by Dow eliminates the need for added solvent or surfactant. Instead, these easy-to-pour HEURs employ pH-triggered association and thickening. The trigger is “off” at low pH and “turns on” at paint pH. This facilitates low viscosity (< 2000 cP) in the as-supplied product and full-thickening efficiency in the paint formulation without the addition of solvent or surfactant.