Synergistic catalytic effects of combined manganese-based driers on accelerating the drying process of tung oil

Although manganese-based driers with nitrogen- or oxygen-containing ligands can accelerate the surface drying of tung oil film, their mechanical property performance does not meet industrial requirements. To address this, the drying activities of manganese-based driers with nitrogen- and oxygen-containing ligands on tung oil film were investigated. The curing process of tung oil film catalyzed by the combination driers of Mn(OH) 2 (benz) 2 ·Mn(H 2 O) 2 (acac) 2 , MnCl 2 (bipy) 2 ·Mn(H 2 O) 2 (acac) 2 , and MnCl 2 (bipy) 2 ·Mn(OH) 2 (benz) 2 was revealed using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results revealed that the combination driers enhanced the drying activities of Mn 2+ in tung oil due to a synergistic effect between Mn 2+ and its ligands. This process catalyzed the crosslinking of tung oil, giving the tung oil film a faster drying time, greater scratch resistance, increased hardness, improved flexibility, and greater thermal stability . These materials may replace traditional heavy metal driers to produce tung oil films with outstanding mechanical properties. Additionally, this paper describes the drying mechanism of these manganese-based driers with a combination of nitrogen-containing and oxygen-containing ligands and provides a new tung oil drying method. • A highly catalyzed active method for a manganese-based drier was proposed. • The combination of nitrogen and oxygen ligands enhances the drying activity of a manganese-based drier on tung oil film. • The synergistic drying mechanism of the nitrogen and oxygen ligands in manganese-based drier was revealed using tung oil. • Tung oil film catalyzed by the combination of manganese-based drier exhibits excellent performance.