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Assignee3M Innovatives Properties Company
InventorsSoonkun Kang, John L. Ethen, Gregory E. Gilligan, Christopher J. Gustafson, Tzu Li Joseph Huang, Sithya Seda Khieu, Kanta Kumar, Thomas W. Rambosek
Estimating the term…
A retroreflective article comprising a substrate and a cured ceramer coating provided on at least a portion of a surface of the substrate. The coated portion of the surface is retroreflective. The coating comprises a cured ceramer composite derived from ingredients comprising a free radically curable binder precursor and a plurality of surface treated, colloidal inorganic oxide components. The colloidal inorganic oxide components are surface treated with a surface treatment agent comprising a fluoro/silane component comprising a hydrolyzable silane moiety and a fluorinated moiety, and a crosslinkable silane component comprising a hydrolyzable silane moiety and a free radically crosslinkable moiety. The weight ratio of the crosslinkable silane component to the fluoro/silane component is from about 4:1 to 20:1, and the weight ratio of the free radically curable binder precursor to the colloidal inorganic oxide components is from about 1:10 to 8:10. A method of making a retroreflective article by coating a substrate with a ceramer composite coating is also described. A method of making a dew-resistant retroreflective article by coating a substrate with a ceramer composite coating and then surface treating the coating is also described.
A retroreflective article, comprising a substrate, and a coating provided on at least a portion of a surface of the substrate, wherein said coated portion of said surface is retroreflective and wherein the coating comprises a cured ceramer composite derived from ingredients comprising:
A method of coating a retroreflective substrate with a ceramer composite coating, comprising the steps of:
The method of 21, wherein the cured ceramer composite coating has a surface having a water contact angle of greater than about 20 and the method further comprises the step of subjecting the surface of the cured ceramer composite coating to a treatment effective to provide said surface with a water contact angle of less than about 20.
The method of 21, further comprising the step of subjecting the cured ceramer composite coating to an oxidative treatment such that the oxidative treated coating has a lower water contact angle as compared to an otherwise identical, but untreated coating.
The method of 21, further comprising the step of subjecting the cured ceramer composite coating to a treatment selected from a corona discharge treatment, a plasma treatment, or combinations thereof such that the treated coating has a lower water contact angle as compared to an otherwise identical, but untreated coating.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.