Lupasol® P

Lupasol® P is an aqueous solution of a branched polyethylenimine polymer with a very high cationic charge density. This high charge density makes it a highly effective adhesion promoter, flocculant, and dispersing agent. It is offered as a clear-to-slightly-turbid viscous liquid containing 50% solids.

Lupasol® P polymer is infinitely soluble in water and can be easily diluted to working concentrations with water and most polar solvents. Due to the cationic nature of Lupasol® P, it is recommended for use in nonionic and cationic formulations. The addition of Lupasol® P to anionic or highly acidic formulations can result in incompatibility. Lupasol® P may be used as an adhesion promoter additive in compatible coating, ink, and adhesive systems to improve the adhesion to difficult substrates, such as paper, plastic, and metal.

Lupasol® P is most commonly used in water-based primer formulations as a primer to improve the adhesion of coatings, inks, and adhesives. For example, in flexible packaging applications, it is applied to foils or low-surface energy films directly before applying adhesives to improve bonding between dissimilar materials. 

Considerable improvement in the adhesion of UV-curable coatings and paints can be also obtained by using Lupasol® P as a primer, where the increased adhesion helps mitigate the lateral shrinkage that occurs during curing.

In textile applications, cotton treated with Lupasol® P is much more receptive to inks and flame retardants. Lupasol® P is also very effective at chelating divalent heavy metals for water treatment applications, making them easier to remove by ultrafiltration. This chelation is reversible, and the heavy metals can then be recovered by electrodeposition.