As a component of latex paint, the rheological thickener must develop along with the development of latex paint. Since rheological thickener can improve the rheological properties of coatings, the development of varieties and application technology of rheological thickener makes the latex paint have more perfect performance and in turn promotes its application and development.

In China, before synthetic resin emulsion architectural paints are the dominant varieties, the thickener varieties used in water-based paints are substantially limited to bentonite, cellulose and the like, and the application amount is also very small. In recent years, the thickener has obtained a large number of applications. At the same time, due attention has also been given to its variety, quality and application technology researches.

As varieties have increased, the dosage is also growing rapidly. The alkali swelling thickener and associative thickener applied now are mostly developed in recent years, or  the new varieties after performance improvement. In particular, the associative thickener can improve the leveling properties, anti-settling properties, the state in the container, the hiding power of the latex paint and the texture of coating, so that the exterior paints and high-performance interior paints can have more satisfactory effects. Due to better effects, its application technology researches have also been taken seriously.

In addition to developing new varieties, improvements in performance have also been made on the existing thickeners to meet the new requirements. For example, hydroxy ethyl cellulose and hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose are the products traditionally used. However, they not only haven’t been abandoned, but the amount applied is increasingly growing. One reason is that manufacturers continue to improve and enhance the performance of these thickeners, so as to meet the new requirements, such as developing products easily dispersed, of instant type, with resistance to biodegradation and with better viscosity stability in a wider temperature range.