ABSTRACT
Rheological additives are widely used in the coatings industry to provide ideal flow behavior. They control sag, leveling, penetration, and application properties along with many other fundamental coating characteristics. A large range of different rheological additives like cellulose ether derivatives, natural gums, alkali swellable emulsions, and clays is available. Newer polymeric materials — the polyether urea polyurethane thickeners (PEUPUs) — are very important for modern high-quality finishes. These are also known as urethane associative thickeners (UATs), polyether polyurethanes (PEPUs) or hydrophobically modified ethoxylated urethanes (HEURs).
