Soft Feel Material Coatings on the Surface of Plastic Products and Their Application Prospects in the Popular Fields: A Review
Source abstract
Abstract
Soft-feel material (mainly polyurethane (PU), silicone rubber (SR), and polyacrylic acid (PAA), etc.) coatings can overcome the drawbacks of common plastic products such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), and polypropylene (PP), which have cold, hard, and bright surfaces, achieving warm, soft, and matte effects, thus greatly improving the quality and price level of the products. Although these coating materials can partially meet the main requirements of the soft feel effect, their comprehensive properties, such as mechanical performance, weather resistance, and foul resistance, still have shortcomings and need to be improved. Besides, there is a lack of in-depth exploration in the literature on the design philosophy and preparation strategies of soft-feel materials. Starting from the mechanism of producing this comfortable feeling and then systematically exploring their application in popular fields with high economic added value, such as mobile phone cases, electronic cigarette cases, cosmetic containers, etc., this article attempts to systematically and meticulously review the research and development progress in the related fields in recent decades and tries to provide an open outlook on their future development directions, e.g., the employment of surface engineering and hybrid materials. This review is expected to provide some rational thinking directions and convenient practical guidance for the rapid and healthy development of soft-feel materials in the research and application fields.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials · Polymer composites and self-healing · Polydiacetylene-based materials and applications
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
CAS Key Laboratory of Nanosystem and Hierarchical Fabrication, CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing 100190, China
Faculty of Printing, Packaging Engineering and Digital Media Technology, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Shenzhen ShineCMF Advanced Materials Co., Ltd., Shenzhen 518107, China
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
College of Materials Science and Optoelectronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China
References (54)
Show source-provided references
1. Invention of biobased polymer alloys and their application in plastic automobile parts10.1038/s41428-023-00760-1 ↗
2. Thomas, J., Patil, R.S., John, J., and Patil, M. (2023). A comprehensive outlook of scope within exterior automotive plastic substrates and its coatings. Coatings, 13.10.3390/coatings13091569 ↗
3. Critical review of heat-resistant and mechanical properties of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) modification for fused deposition modeling (FDM)
4. Introduction and development of elastic touch coatings
5. Surface modification of the BOPP laminated film via coating method and its application progress
6. Recent advances in soft functional materials: Preparation, functions and applications10.1039/C9NR07035D ↗
7. Material Innovation for the soft wind instrument, Suona
8. Quantitative assessment of pleasant touch10.1016/j.neubiorev.2009.02.003 ↗
9. The look and feel of soft are similar across different softness dimensions10.1167/jov.21.10.20 ↗
10. Research on the evaluation methods of skin sensory board coatings
11. Quantifying touch-feel perception on automotive interiors by a multi-function tribological probe microscope10.1088/1742-6596/13/1/082 ↗
12. A comparative study between experimentally measured mechanical attributes and users’ perception of soft feel coatings: Correlating human sense with surface characteristics of polyurethane based coatings10.1016/j.porgcoat.2013.04.011 ↗
13. Less frictional skin feels softer in a tribologically paradoxical manner10.1109/ACCESS.2022.3175875 ↗
14. Hashim, I.H.M., Kumamoto, S., Takemura, K., Maeno, T., Okuda, S., and Mori, Y. (2017). Tactile evaluation feedback system for multi-layered structure inspired by human tactile perception mechanism. Sensors, 17.10.3390/s17112601 ↗
15. Research and development of waterborne soft feel coatings for ABS plastics
16. Research progress on the coating materials and their processes for the automotive interior and exterior design
17. A multiscale coupled finite-element and phase-field framework to modeling stressed grain growth in polycrystalline thin films10.1016/j.jcp.2016.09.061 ↗
18. Influence of thermal annealing on the microstructure evolution, fracture and fatigue behavior of nanocrystalline Cu films10.1016/j.mtcomm.2023.106793 ↗
19. Eggshell membrane reinforced polypropylene biocomposite and its tactile assessment10.1002/app.49508 ↗
20. Development of two-component soft feel coatings for ABS plastics
21. Farbenindustrie, I.G. (1942). Verfahrenzur Herstellung von Polyurethanenebzw, Polyharnstoffen. (Patent DE728981).
22. Self-healing thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/polycaprolactone (PCL)/multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) blend as shape-memory composites10.1016/j.compscitech.2018.10.003 ↗
23. A facile approach to fabricate two-way shape memory polyurethane with large reversible strain and high shape stability10.1088/1361-665X/ab7f40 ↗
24. Three-dimensional graphene coated shape memory polyurethane foam with fast responsive performance10.1039/D1TC01315G ↗
25. A bidirectionally reversible light-responsive actuator based on shape memory polyurethane bilayer10.1016/j.compositesa.2021.106322 ↗
26. Yang, X., Han, Z., Jia, C., Wang, T., Wang, X., Hu, F., Zhang, H., Zhao, J., and Zhang, X. (2023). Preparation and characterization of body-temperature-responsive thermoset shape memory polyurethane for medical applications. Polymers, 15.10.3390/polym15153193 ↗
27. Rudlong, M., and Goddard, M. (2023). Synthesis and characterization of hydrophobic and low surface tension polyurethane. Coatings, 13.10.3390/coatings13071133 ↗
28. Nam, H.J., Hwangbo, H., Nam, Y., and Nam, M. (2023). Development and performance evaluation of stretchable silver pastes for screen printing on thermoplastic polyurethane films. Coatings, 13.10.3390/coatings13091499 ↗
29. Rapp, M., Voigt, A., Dirschka, M., and de Carvalho, M.D.S. (2023). The use of polyurethane composites with sensing polymers as new coating materials for surface acoustic wave-based chemical sensors—Part I: Analysis of the coating results, sensing responses and adhesion of the coating layers of polyurethane-polybutylmethacrylate composites. Coatings, 13.10.3390/coatings13111911 ↗
30. Formula design and optimization of an elastic touch paint
31. Preparation and properties of waterborne two-component polyurethane soft feel coatings
32. Research on the elastic touch coatings for ABS
33. (1998). Paints and Varnishes-Scratching Test for Paint Films (Standard No. GB/T9286-1998). (In Chinese).
34. (2006). Paints and Varnishes-Determination of Film Hardness by Pencil Method (Standard No. GB/T6739-2006). (In Chinese).
35. (2007). Paints and Varnishes-Determination of 20°, 60°, and 85° Specular Gloss of Paint Films without Metal Pigments (Standard No. GB/T9754-2007). (In Chinese).
36. (1993). Method for Determining the Flexibility of Paint Films (Standard No. GB/T1731-1993). (In Chinese).
37. (2009). Determination of Solvent Wiping Resistance of Coatings (Standard No. GB/T23989-2009). (In Chinese).
38. Research on the low surface energy UV curing waterborne soft feel plastic coatings
39. Duan, T. (2013). Liangquan packaging building the first brand in the soft feel film industry. Print. Technol., 76. (In Chinese).
40. Nobel, A. (2014). Akzo Nobel’s special coatings business department launches innovative soft feel surface coatings. New Chem. Mater., 235. (In Chinese).
41. (2017). Polycarbonate mobile phone cases have a metallic texture. Glob. Polyurethane, 48. (In Chinese).
42. Chen, Q. (2014). Research on the color and material of smartphone case. China Sci. Technol. Inf., 187. (In Chinese).
43. A method for making a mobile phone case with thermal insulation and heating function
44. Zheng, Y., Zheng, Y., Shao, L., Qiu, S., Zheng, J., Liu, Q., and Luo, W. (2021). A Kevlar Mobile Phone Protective Case with Integrated Magsafe magnet Processing Technology. (Patent CN113079238A), (In Chinese).
45. Methods for eliminating gas trapping defects in the injection molding of mobile phone cases
46. Han, L., Wang, R., Li, W., Shi, J., and Zhao, J. (2017). Injection molding process and mold design for mobile phone cases. Technol. Innov. Appl., 87–88. (In Chinese).
47. Flow analysis and process optimization of injection molding for mobile phone cases
48. Deng, S. (2018). A brief discussion on the environmental issues and solutions in coating process of plastic and rubber mobile phone cases. Build. Mater. Decor., 205–206. (In Chinese).
49. Polycarbonate glycol (PCDL) soft feel coatings for automotive interior parts
50. Formula design and application of elastic tactile coating on the outer surface of the casing
51. Solvent-based two-component polyurethane soft feel coatings for plastic substrates
52. Second layer coating of soft feel coatings on polypropylene
53. Water-based two-component polyurethane soft feel coating for automotive interior parts
54. Irle, C., Mechtel, M., Li, J., and Liu, Q. (2009). New production process for improved soft feel coatings. Coat. Ind., 39, (In Chinese).