I.

5: Additives for Plastics

(Ref. A. Kumar and R.K. Gupta, McGraw-Hill 1998)

• Plasticizers

• Fillers

• Coupling Agent

• Antioxidant and stabilizer

• Nucleating agent

Types of additives
Mechanical Properties
Filler (สารตัวเติม)
Impact modifier
(สารปร ับปรุงการกระแทก)
Nucleating agent
(สารก่อนิ วเคลียส)
Plasticizer -
(สารเสริมสภาพพลาสติก)
Fiber(เส ้นใยเสริมแรง)
Surface Properties
Anti-fogging(สารต ้านการเกิดฝ้ า) -
Antistatic(สารต ้านไฟฟ้ าสถิต)
Coupling agent(สารประสาน)
่ )
Lubricant(สารหล่อลืน
Plastic Additives
Function
Increase strength, reduce cost
Increase impact resistance
Increase no. of crystals
Increase softness
Increase strength and stiffness
Prevent fog formation on the plastic film
Prevent electrostatic discharge
Improve interaction between fillers or fibers and polymers
Prevent sticking
Chemical Properties
Antioxidant(สารกันออกซิเดช ัน) - Prevent polymer degradation from oxidation
Moo
Prevent damage from bacteria and fungi
Biocide(สารต ้านจุลชีพ) -
Reduce damage from catching fire
Fire retardant - Teuy
(สารถ่วงการติดไฟ) Prevent degradation by UV light
UV stabilizer -Top
(สารคงสภาพแสง)

Aesthetic
Biocide(สารต ้านจุลชีพ) Prevent rotten smell
Colorant(สารให ้สี) - Sine Add colors
Nucleating agent Improve transparency
(สารก่อนิ วเคลียส)
่ )
Fragrance(สารให ้กลิน Improve aroma
Glossing agent Add gloss and shine
่
(สารเพิมความสว่ าง)
Processing
Foaming agent(สารฟู) Produce plastic foam
Crosslinking agent Form crosslink reaction
่
(สารก่อพันธะเชือมโยง )
Anti-foaming agent Reduce foam and bubbles
(สารลดฟอง)
Emulsifier(สารก่ออิมล
ั ช ัน) Stabilize emulsion
Thermal stabilizer Prevent thermal degradation
(สารคงสภาพทางความ
ร ้อน) Reduce melt viscosity
Plasticizer
(สารเสริมสภาพพลาสติก) Prevent polymer sticking to mold
Mold release
(สารหล่อลืน ่ ) Increase viscosity
่ อ้ )
Thickener(สารเพิมเนื
Various additives to polyvinyl chloride
 Plasticizers
• External plasticizer: low MW. Liq. that help increase mobility of
high MW entangled polymers
- the plasticizer reduces the polymer-polymer chain 2nd bonding

softer, more easily deformable mass

- performance – need plasticizer with low volatility

MWsolvent < MWplasticizer < < MWpolymer

Internal plasticizer: making copolymer with soft
polymer
 get desirable product property at a particular
temp.
(whereas external plasticizer—get desirable
product at a wider range of temp.)

Example of internal plasticizer

 Ex. PVC: has lots of external plasticizer and
additives ex. DOP (dioctyl phathalate)
Unplasticized PVC
-- rigid material used for pipes and fittings
Plasticized PVC
-- depend on level of plasticizer
– leather-like upholstery
– wire and cable covering
– shower curtains
– packaging film

ex. Plastisols: 100 parts DOP phr + stabilizer + pigments

low vis. suspension
film
(~vis of plasticizer) melt
suspension of PVC beads in plasticizer
(flexible solid)
 Efficiency of plasticizer
Select plasticizer with high solubility in & high compatibility to Polymer Matrix
The more similar structure  the higher solubility, compatibility
Ex.

-Plasticizers have to stay inside the matrix w/o migration or blooming

Plasticizer:
Schematic drawing of
polymer dissolution
 สารประสาน (Coupling Agents)
สารประสานหรือสารช่วยยึด (coupling agents or adhesion
promoters)
-function as a bridge/binder between polymers and fillers by forming
a strong interaction between the two phases

How to use coupling agents:

1. coating/adjusting the surfaces of fillers & fibers first, then
mix with polymers
2. Mix the coupling agent directly with polymer and filler
during compounding process (sometimes called
compatibilizer)
Examples of some silane coupling agents
 ฟิ ลเลอร ์ (Fillers)
Filler: solid additives put into polymers to reduce
cost (extenders) or improve mechanical properties of
polymers (active fillers)
- Examples of เอกซ ์เทนเดอร ์ (extenders) or
inert fillers are CaCO3 , talc, kaolin, wood dust
- Examples of ฟังก ์ช ันแนลฟิ ลเลอร ์ (functional
fillers) or active fillers are
reinforcing fillers –(reinforcing filler is
functional filler to increase strength, especially
tensile strength)
 Selection of Fillers
Depends on
- price
- properties of fillers
- Required properties of products ex.
For high tensile strength product, fillers need to be
+ hard/strong compared to polymer matrix
+ with high aspect ratio
+ disperse well in polymer matrices
For high clarity, fillers need to
+ have similar refractive index as the polymer
+ Or need to be small in the nanometer range
(nanoparticles)
For high quality surface, filler size has to be small and round, or platy

For low moisture adsorption, filler needs to absorb low moisture and
have strong interaction with polymer.
Shapes and aspect ratios of different types of fillers
แอนติออกซิแดนซ ์ (Antioxidant)
Oxidation Mechanism
When polymers react with oxygen, they form
peroxide bonds (O-O). These bonds easily
break into free radical (อนุ มูลอิสระ) and
break the polymer chains.
Roles of Different Types of Antioxidants
Anti-Oxidant Mechanism
 Heat stabilizer (สเตบิไลเซอร ์)
• In the polymer processing process,
polymers are exposed to high
temperature. The degradation of polymer
during processing leads to changes in the
color of polymers.
• Heat stabilizer is added to polymers to
avoid degradation during processing
related to high temperature.
BOX 2.2:Thermal degradation of some commercial polymers
BOX 2.2:Thermal degradation of some commercial polymers (con’t)
BOX 2.2:Thermal degradation of some commercial polymers (con’t)
 สารก่อผลึก (Nucleating Agent)
Nucleating agent helps in forming
polymer crystals quickly thus having small
crystal size.

(ref. Milliken®,
SpecialChem S.A.)
Appearance:
Since light can pass through small crystals better than large
crystals, nucleating agent thus
- helps improve penetration of light through the polymer
film and
- improve clarity of the film.

In the processing point of view:

Small crystals shrinks in mold less than big crystals when
cooled
- plastic products can be removed from molds faster.
- products maintain shape better when cooled