Plasticizers – Benefits, Trends, Health, and Environmental
Plasticizers are colorless and odorless esters, mainly phthalates, that increase the elasticity of a material (e.g., polyvinylchloride (PVC)). Plasticizers soften the PVC to make it flexible and bendable. This opens up a huge range of possibilities for new applications.
Plasticizer
It was commonly thought that plasticizers work by embedding themselves between the chains of polymers, spacing them apart (increasing the "free volume"), [3] [4] or swelling them and thus significantly lowering the glass transition temperature for the plastic and making it softer.
What Plasticizers Do & How They Affect Properties | Osborne
Plasticizers act like a lubricant among polymer chains to reduce rigidity. Without them, synthetic polymer materials would be too brittle and rigid for any practical purpose. For example, plasticizers give rubber its extensibility. Approximately 90% of all plasticizers are used in polyvinyl chloride, or PVC.
What Are Plasticizers? | Plasticizers in Plastic Manufacturing
Starting with the basics, a plasticizer is a low-volatility liquid or solid substance that’s added to a raw polymer like a type of plastic or rubber to improve its flexibility, make it easier to shape and mold, and reduce friction on its surface. When they’re added to a polymer, they work themselves into the polymer chains, acting like a
Plasticizer - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
Plasticizer efficiency is used to describe the ability of a plasticizer to make the product softer and is reported as a ratio of the slope of the hardness versus plasticized concentration to the slope of that found for DOP. The relationship of hardness and plasticizer concentration expressed in phr (parts per hundred resin) is shown in Figure 3.
- What is a plasticizer & how does it work?
- A plasticizer is an additive that when added to another material makes that material softer or pliable. Although this definition can be applied to a variety of products, the word “plasticizer” generally refers to materials used in plastics.
- Why do plasticizers need to be migrated?
- These principles must be balanced because too much migration can lead to plasticizers’ loss, compromising the final product’s mechanical properties. Such understandings are essential when improving material performance among engineers or materials scientists for particular applications.
- How do I choose a plasticizer for custom plastics manufacturing?
- Several important factors must be considered when choosing plasticizers for custom plastics manufacturing to ensure the best performance, safety, and compliance with regulatory standards. Compatibility: The plasticizer chosen must be compatible with the polymer in use.
- How are plasticizers broken down in polymer matrices?
- There are several ways that plasticizers are broken down in polymer matrices: hydrolysis, oxidation, and thermal degradation. Each method can convert a plasticizer into tiny fragments that could be dangerous if released into the environment.
- What are plasticizers used in PVC & other plastics?
- Plasticizers used in PVC and other plastics are often based on esters of polycarboxylic acids with linear or branched aliphatic alcohols of moderate chain length. These compounds are selected on the basis of many critieria including low toxicity, compatibility with the host material, nonvolatility, and expense.
- How can plasticizers be used to control biodegradation?
- By changing the kinds of, amount, or concentration of plasticizer, the properties can be tailored to meet any application requirements of the material. For example, plasticizers can be used to control polymer degradation, and depending on the additive, can either increase or decrease the biodegradable rate.
