Wetbased

Wetbased is a term used in several technical disciplines to describe processes, formulations, or materials in which water or another aqueous liquid serves as the primary medium. Although not universally standardized, wetbased is commonly interpreted as the opposite of dry-based or solvent-based approaches, emphasizing aqueous dispersion, transport, or reaction as a defining feature.

Applications appear in coatings, adhesives, and pigments, where wetbased formulations disperse solids in water and apply as a slurry or film; drying or curing then forms the final solid layer. In energy storage and electronics, wetbased (often written as water-based) electrode slurries mix conductive additives and binder in water before coating onto substrates, reducing volatile organic compound emissions compared with solvent-based processes. Wet-based synthesis and deposition methods also abound in materials science, including hydrothermal and sol-gel routes conducted in aqueous media.

Benefits of wetbased approaches include lower emissions of organic solvents, improved safety profiles for handling, and compatibility with environmentally friendly processes. Challenges include controlling rheology and stability of aqueous suspensions, longer drying cycles, corrosion risk in metal components, and potential hydrolysis or phase separation that can affect performance.

Terminology varies by field; wetbased often appears as wet-based, water-based, or aqueous-based in literature. It is not a formal standard term, but it captures a common engineering distinction between processes that rely on water as a medium and those that do not.

See also: water-based; aqueous chemistry; slurry processing; solvent-based and dry-based technologies.