Decorative Ceramic Surfaces using UV-curable Adhesion Promoters and Nanocomposites Coatings

Digital printing is becoming important in the ceramic tiles industry in order to obtain surfaces with excellent technical and aesthetic properties. Decoration of ceramic products using ink-jet technology by means of UV-curable inks entails an extensive research of different adhesion promoters and top-coat formulations in order to ensure an appropriate durability of the products developed. The work to be presented is focused on the development of an adhesion promoter crosslinked with UV radiation used on ceramic surfaces to allow a suitable anchorage for the decoration. In addition, the formulation of different UV top-coats using nanoparticles such as silica was investigated in order to improve the scratch and wear behavior of the nanocomposites coatings obtained.