Antimicrobial Powder Coatings Based on Environmentally Friendly Biocides

In this work, silver-free UV-curable powder coatings with antimicrobial properties were developed. The coatings were made using acrylic resin containing epoxy groups and environmentally friendly biocides such as chitosan or chitosan intercalated in montmorillonite. The UV-curing reaction involved the cationic polymerization of epoxy groups initiated by triarylsulfonium hexafluorophosphate as the photoinitiator. The resulting coatings were evaluated through a series of tests including roughness, gloss, scratch resistance, hardness, adhesion to steel, water contact angle, and antimicrobial resistance. The mechanism of antimicrobial activity was also proposed.