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Dow Corning develops advanced flame retardant synergist for polyamide compounds
MATERIALS
MATERIALS Dow Corning develops advanced flame retardant synergist for polyamide compounds
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ow Chemical subsidiary Dow Corning has launched silicone-based Dow Corning® 43-821 Additive, a new flame retardant synergist designed to overcome the mechanical performance degradation and corrosivity problems caused by high loadings of conventional phosphorus-based flame retardants in filled polyamide (PA) compounds. Used at low levels (1–2%), the new synergist can cut the total amount of organic phosphorus additive needed in PA6 and PA66 compounds by 40%, while still providing high levels of flame retardancy, the company claims. According to Dow Corning, its new synergist ‘delivers important benefits’ for compounders and electrical/electronic component manufacturers. These include restoring the essential mechanical properties of PA resin, minimizing corrosion of metallic parts that contact the formulation and lowering compound costs by at least 10%, the company says. The patented product was introduced at Chinaplas 2017 in May. The synergist is the first offering in a totally new product family, the company reveals. Glass-reinforced PA6 and PA66 compounds are widely used in electrical/electronic applications in the automotive and appliance industries. When selecting a flame retardant, many compounders and their customers now prefer halogen-free solutions on sustainability grounds. Organic phosphorus-based additives such as aluminium phosphinate – often blended with melamine polyphosphate – are a popular choice, Dow Corning reports. However, the high loadings of up to 20% that are required to meet regulatory requirements are a major drawback as a high phosphorus content in PA compounds can result in degradation of crucial mechanical properties, such as impact, elongation and maximum force at traction, and present high corrosivity, the company explains. Thanks to its synergistic effect with metal phosphinates, Dow Corning 43-821 Additive remediates these issues so that compounders and manufacturers can continue to benefit from halogen-free flame retardants without the disadvantages, Dow Corning says. Moreover, the new product’s synergistic effects on PA resin yield
2
Additives for Polymers
‘excellent flame retardant properties’, the company claims. These properties include char formation, anti-dripping and reduced heat generation. Tests indicated that 30% glassfilled PA compounds incorporating 13 wt% of aluminium phosphinate and 2 wt% of Dow Corning 43-821 Additive met the requirements for UL-94 V-0 at 1 mm, it reports. Supplied globally in powder form for easy blending with aluminium phosphinate additives, the new synergist is stable at the high processing temperatures needed for glassreinforced PA, the company adds. Balancing performance and cost is a compounding challenge that the new Dow Corning 43-821 Additive is helping to address head on, comments Christophe Paulo, global segment leader, Plastics Solutions for the company. ‘Not only does this new product optimize highly filled, flame retardant PA compounds, but it also delivers cost advantages in three major ways: by reducing the required amount of organic phosphorus additive, by delivering high performance at very low loadings and by avoiding the need for over-engineered inherently flame retardant materials’, he says. Dow Corning 43-821 Additive is ‘a prime example’ of how the company continues to innovate ‘highly specialized additive technologies’ that meet very specific customer needs, Paulo adds. Contact: Dow Corning Corp, Midland, MI, USA. Tel: +1 989 496 4400, Web: www.dowcorning.com
Gelest launches improved coupling agent for composites
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S-based silanes and silicones specialist Gelest has unveiled Sivate™ E610 Enhanced amine functional silane. Among a range of applications, the new product acts as a coupling agent for thermoset and thermoplastic composites, imparting long-term durability in a wide range of environments, the company says. Elsewhere, Gelest’s Biosafe HM4100 antimicrobial agent has received US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clearance allowing its use in food contact applications. Sivate E610 Enhanced silane is a proprietary combination of a dipodal silane with an amine functional silane. The dipodal silane combines with the functional silane to form a tight conformal network of siloxane bonds, reduces water adsorption at the interface and, most
July 2017
MATERIALS Dow Corning develops advanced flame retardant synergist for polyamide compounds
D
ow Chemical subsidiary Dow Corning has launched silicone-based Dow Corning® 43-821 Additive, a new flame retardant synergist designed to overcome the mechanical performance degradation and corrosivity problems caused by high loadings of conventional phosphorus-based flame retardants in filled polyamide (PA) compounds. Used at low levels (1–2%), the new synergist can cut the total amount of organic phosphorus additive needed in PA6 and PA66 compounds by 40%, while still providing high levels of flame retardancy, the company claims. According to Dow Corning, its new synergist ‘delivers important benefits’ for compounders and electrical/electronic component manufacturers. These include restoring the essential mechanical properties of PA resin, minimizing corrosion of metallic parts that contact the formulation and lowering compound costs by at least 10%, the company says. The patented product was introduced at Chinaplas 2017 in May. The synergist is the first offering in a totally new product family, the company reveals. Glass-reinforced PA6 and PA66 compounds are widely used in electrical/electronic applications in the automotive and appliance industries. When selecting a flame retardant, many compounders and their customers now prefer halogen-free solutions on sustainability grounds. Organic phosphorus-based additives such as aluminium phosphinate – often blended with melamine polyphosphate – are a popular choice, Dow Corning reports. However, the high loadings of up to 20% that are required to meet regulatory requirements are a major drawback as a high phosphorus content in PA compounds can result in degradation of crucial mechanical properties, such as impact, elongation and maximum force at traction, and present high corrosivity, the company explains. Thanks to its synergistic effect with metal phosphinates, Dow Corning 43-821 Additive remediates these issues so that compounders and manufacturers can continue to benefit from halogen-free flame retardants without the disadvantages, Dow Corning says. Moreover, the new product’s synergistic effects on PA resin yield
2
Additives for Polymers
‘excellent flame retardant properties’, the company claims. These properties include char formation, anti-dripping and reduced heat generation. Tests indicated that 30% glassfilled PA compounds incorporating 13 wt% of aluminium phosphinate and 2 wt% of Dow Corning 43-821 Additive met the requirements for UL-94 V-0 at 1 mm, it reports. Supplied globally in powder form for easy blending with aluminium phosphinate additives, the new synergist is stable at the high processing temperatures needed for glassreinforced PA, the company adds. Balancing performance and cost is a compounding challenge that the new Dow Corning 43-821 Additive is helping to address head on, comments Christophe Paulo, global segment leader, Plastics Solutions for the company. ‘Not only does this new product optimize highly filled, flame retardant PA compounds, but it also delivers cost advantages in three major ways: by reducing the required amount of organic phosphorus additive, by delivering high performance at very low loadings and by avoiding the need for over-engineered inherently flame retardant materials’, he says. Dow Corning 43-821 Additive is ‘a prime example’ of how the company continues to innovate ‘highly specialized additive technologies’ that meet very specific customer needs, Paulo adds. Contact: Dow Corning Corp, Midland, MI, USA. Tel: +1 989 496 4400, Web: www.dowcorning.com
Gelest launches improved coupling agent for composites
U
S-based silanes and silicones specialist Gelest has unveiled Sivate™ E610 Enhanced amine functional silane. Among a range of applications, the new product acts as a coupling agent for thermoset and thermoplastic composites, imparting long-term durability in a wide range of environments, the company says. Elsewhere, Gelest’s Biosafe HM4100 antimicrobial agent has received US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clearance allowing its use in food contact applications. Sivate E610 Enhanced silane is a proprietary combination of a dipodal silane with an amine functional silane. The dipodal silane combines with the functional silane to form a tight conformal network of siloxane bonds, reduces water adsorption at the interface and, most
July 2017