Effect of hollow glass microspheres and cenospheres on insulation properties of coatings

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to prepare heat insulating exterior emulsion coating and to study its heat insulating property along with mechanical, chemical and weathering resistance properties with varying amount of hollow glass microspheres and cenospheres. Design/methodology/approach - For heat insulating effect, various compositions were made by incorporating different proportions of hollow glass microspheres (HGM) and cenospheres (C). The mechanical, chemical, morphological and optical properties of the coating films were studied and compared. Findings - Addition of hollow glass microspheres and cenospheres enhanced heat insulating property of the coating, hardness, tensile strength and wet scrub resistance. It was evaluated that optimum loading for both cenospheres and hollow glass microspheres was 10 wt.% and both the systems showed good mechanical, chemical resistance and weathering properties. Practical implications - Addition of hollow glass microspheres and cenospheres to acrylic emulsion coating is a simple and inexpensive method. Originality/value - The new heat insulating coatings with good thermal insulation properties and improved weather resistance were prepared. These coatings could find applications in demanding fields such as exterior wall coatings and roof coatings.