Plasticizers – Benefits, Trends, Health, and Environmental Issues
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 Industries
Plasticizers are non-volatile chemical solvents used throughout the plastics industry to increase such properties as flexibility, pliability, durability, longevity, biodegradability, and extensibility in polymers.
What Are Plasticizers? | Plasticizers in Plastic Manufacturing
What Is a Plasticizer? 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
Selecting Plasticizers for Adhesives and Sealants
Plasticizers will reduce the melt viscosity of hot-melt adhesives and 100% solids adhesives & sealants. However, the addition of certain plasticizers to a polymeric emulsion will usually result in increased viscosity. This effect can be used to formulate a waterborne adhesive having greater coating thickness build-up.
- How do plasticizers work?
- Plasticizers work by embedding themselves between the chains of polymers, spacing them apart. They create free space and allow the chains to slide past each other easily when a force is applied. This increases the flexibility of the material, reduces brittleness, and improves its resistance to impact.
- How do plasticizers affect the performance of PVC materials?
- Plasticizers modify the performance properties of PVC materials by increasing their flexibility, reducing brittleness, and enhancing impact resistance. The type and amount of plasticizer used can also affect other properties such as tensile strength, elongation at break, and thermal stability.
- Why do plasticizers reduce TG?
- The reduction of Tg is proportional to the temperature difference between the Tg of the polymer and plasticizer. Plasticization improves the flexibility and processability of polymers. Certain factors can counteract or restrict this enhancement. Certain polymers may have limited compatibility with specific plasticizers, hindering their integration.
- What are plasticizers?
- Plasticizers are intermediate chemical products whose properties determine greatly the performance of the products which they are added. It is estimated that in the search for plasticizers to modify rigid polymers, more than 30,000 substances have been tested.
- How to make a plastic product more flexible by adding plasticizers?
- The process of making the final plastic product more flexible by adding plasticizers is called plasticization. By adding the right type and amount of plasticizer, you can tweak the polymer properties to get exactly what you need.
- What is plasticization in chemistry?
- The term plasticization refers to the softening and increase in flexibility of a polymer. This change is due to the addition of specific additives, especially plasticizers. A plasticizer is a non-volatile substance incorporated in a plastic or elastomer. It changes the thermal and mechanical properties of the material.
