Nine Most Commonly Seen Additives in Plastics. Alfa Chemistry is chemical supplier that provides a comprehensive range of stabilizers, including antioxidant, flame retardant, heat stabilizer, light stabilizer, mould inhibitor, optical brightener, plasticizer, and synthetic auxiliary. All can be used as additives for plastics.
Nine Most Commonly Seen Additives in Plastics
Reinforcing materials and fillers
In many plastics, reinforcing materials and fillers occupy a considerable proportion. In order to
improve the strength and rigidity of plastic products or reduce production costs, various fiber
materials or inorganic substances are added. The most commonly used reinforcement materials
are: glass fiber, asbestos, quartz, carbon black, silicate, calcium carbonate, metal oxides, etc.
Coupling agent
Coupling agent refers to a class of substances that can improve the interface properties between
fillers and polymer materials. Usually there are two functional groups in the molecular structure
of the coupling agent: one can chemically react with the polymer matrix or have good
compatibility; the other can form chemical bonds with the inorganic filler. For example, silane
coupling agent, the general formula of which can be written as RSiX3, where R is an active
functional group that has affinity and reactivity with polymer molecules, such as vinyl,
chloropropyl, epoxy, methacryloyl, amine and mercapto, and X is an alkoxy group that can be
hydrolyzed, such as methoxy, ethoxy, etc. At present, organosilane is the most widely used
coupling agent, and organotitanate is a more efficient coupling agent.
Cross-linking agent
Crosslinking agents are mainly used in polymer materials (rubber and thermosetting resins).
Because the molecular structure of the polymer material is a linear structure, the strength is low
when it is not cross-linked and it’s easy to break. A network structure is formed, which improves
the strength and elasticity of the rubber. The crosslinking agent used in the rubber is mainly sulfur,
and an accelerator is added. The general cross-linking agent mostly refers to organic peroxide. For
instance, dicumyl peroxide can be used as the cross-linking agent for polyethylene.
Foaming agent
Foaming agent is a kind of substance that can make rubber and plastic in a liquid or plastic state
to form a microporo