Catalytic effects of zirconium on scratch-healing and mechanical properties of urethane–acrylate automotive clearcoat

This work describes the effect of zirconium(IV) acetylacetonate (Zr(acac)4) on the self-healing and thermomechanical properties of urethane–acrylate copolymers, and which were compared with dibutyltin dilaurate (DBTDL). For prepolymer synthesis, glyceryl methacrylate (GlyMA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were chosen and copolymerized with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and butyl acrylate (BA) at a concentration of 8 mol%. The prepolymers (G8...