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PA Additives | technology


Additives lift PA to new levels


Polyamide is already one of the most versatile engineering polymers but new additive introductions are extending its potential even further. Peter Mapleston reports on the latest developments


Additive suppliers with polyamides in their sights are setting new limits in improving processability and performance of these highly versatile engineering plastics. The latest developments tackle issues of flow, thermal stability, surface properties, cycle times, corrosion in electrical components, and more. At Brüggemann Chemical, which aims its plastics


additives almost exclusively at polyamides, Polymer Additives Business Manager Klaus Bergmann says the company has put a great deal of emphasis on copper- based stabilisers. He says this is the best class of antioxidants for polyamides in terms of stabilising mechanical performance under heat. However, he notes there is a market need for products that do not cause corrosion in electrical and electronic components. “We are aware of the growing call for products to be halogen-free or copper-free,” he says. The company took its first steps in this direction back at K2013, when it introduced heat stabilisers that use less copper and less halogen than existing products in its portfolio. These grades, Bruggolen H3376 and H3386, use a copper complex instead of a copper salt. The key advantage of copper complexes is that they are not soluble in water absorbed by the polyamide. “The copper is immobilised in the polymer matrix,” Berg- mann says, while emphasising that the stabilisation effect is just as good. He also points out that compara-


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tive tracking index of compounds containing the additive “is on the highest level.” This is because the tendency of the copper to migrate is much lower than with existing stabiliser types. The additive also produces no discol- oration after conditioning.


Next generation At K2016, Brüggemann introduced a next-generation copper complex stabiliser, TP-H1606, which not only provides stabilisation at high temperatures like other copper-based products, but is also said to be much better than standard blends of sterically-hindered phenols and phosphites at temperatures around 120-140°C (Figure 1). Using the new additive, it is possible to reduce


copper and halogens to levels that enable compounds to be defined as halogen free according to the Interna- tional Electrochemical Commission definition IEC/EN 61249-2-21. This lays down that total halogen levels must be below 1,500 ppm, with neither chlorine nor bromine levels exceeding 900 ppm. Bergmann says that, with Bruggolen TP-H1606, it is


possible to stabilise polyamides so that the mechanical properties under heat remain constant for a long time at a high level. For example, the elongation at break of an unreinforced PA66 stabilised with 0.5% of TP-H1606 falls to half its original level only after more than 2,000h


February 2017 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 23


Main image: The latest additive


technologies


can extend the scope of


polyamides in demanding application


sectors such as automotive


PHOTO: CLARIANT


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