Polyaspartic Ester Polyurea-TiO2nanocomposite Coatings for UV Protection of Leading Edge of Wind Turbine Blades

Abstract

Polyaspartic ester polyurea (PAEPU) supplies a promising matrix for high-durability coatings. However, its poor UV-A resistance make its usage limited. In this work, commercially available anatase TiO<inf>2</inf> particles (0.05–10 wt%) were dispersed in PAE matrix without any modification. PAEPU/TiO<inf>2</inf> composites were supplied by the reaction of PAE/TiO<inf>2</inf> matrix with an aliphatic isocyanate. UV–Visible spectra of spin coated PAEPU/TiO<inf>2</inf> composite thin films showed an exponential decrease in transmittance with increasing amount of TiO<inf>2.</inf> The optical response is dominated by UV blocking for TiO<inf>2</inf> amounts smaller than 0.3 wt%. For above 0.5 wt% TiO<inf>2</inf> amounts, transparency to translucency transition signifies the beginning of multiple scattering. The diameter of particles analyzed by AFM showed that particle diameter is 47 ± 11 nm taking into account of images of the PAEPU films containing 0.3 wt% of TiO<inf>2</inf> particles. Radial distribution function of the particle domains achieved from microscopy suggests that interparticle distance gets smaller than the wavelength of the incident light even at low the particle concentration. Accelerated weathering test were performed by applying 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 3.0 wt% TiO<inf>2</inf> containing PAEPU composite films on a white primer with Doctor Blade method. 0.1 wt% PAEPU/TiO<inf>2</inf> composites shows lower ΔE value compare to both neat and higher amounts of TiO<inf>2</inf> containing PAEPU composite films. The results suggest that without the complexity and cost of the surface modification, the low loading of commercial TiO<inf>2</inf> into PAE matrix may supply UV-stabilized PAEPU coatings relevant to the leading-edge protection of wind-turbine blades. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.