HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPOUNDS | MATERIALS
Performance compounds: delivering more from less
Whether for weight saving, cost or sustainability reasons, compounders are working hard to deliver more performance from less material, writes Peter Mapleston
In a world increasingly aware of the limits of its resources, “make the most of what you have” seems a pretty sound mantra to follow in all walks of life. It certainly seems to apply to developers of performance polymers and compounds, where there is a common focus on making valuable available materials go further than ever, in their first lives and then later when they are recycled (despite recent claims by Greenpeace plastics can be and are being recycled.) This article takes a look at a few examples of what is going on within some high-performance polymer makers and their compounding customers.
Chemical additives such as POSS trisilanol phenyl have been shown to be effective in cutting- edge formulations using PPE, PPS, PES, polyimide, fluoropolymer, PAEK, and PEI resins, according to Joseph Lichtenhan, VP New Business Development at Hybrid Plastics in the US. “Their success results from the low percentage use level that in turn decreases compounding time, reduces viscosity, and improves filler dispersion,” he claims. “Performance filler additives such as carbon nanotubes, graphenes, nano-oxide powders, and fibre reinforcements require an innovative com- pounding approach because of their entangled, or agglomerated nature, their high surface areas, and the need to retain the desired nano-structural features. While also nanoscopic, POSS ‘cage’ chemicals are smaller than most additives and they thereby serve well as interfaces between those additives and polymer dimensions (segments, coils, chains),” he says. According to Lichtenhan, the chemical features
www.compoundingworld.com
of POSS provide ease of use, along with conven- tional compatibilisation mechanisms such as solubility parameter matching, and take advantage of thermodynamic associations between the cage and polymer or filler surface. “POSS advantageous- ly melts at or near the melting point of polymers [in which it is intended for use]. This melting provides the processing benefits of reducing torque and viscosity of formulations. For example, when the trisilanol phenyl POSS melts at 200°C, it is shear thinning, providing a viscosity range of 7,000- 10,000 Pa.s,” he says. “When heated to 300°C, [the temperature around which most high-performance thermoplastics are processed], its viscosity is only 1-10 Pa.s, thus providing rheological reduction during compound- ing. Upon cooling, the cages re-solidify and provide reinforcement and modulus enhancement.” An example where such nano-additive technol- ogy has been realised is in production of aero-
Main image: LehVoss has developed a full range of high perfor- mance
compounds to replace metals in production of cycle
components, offering weight saving and extended durability
November 2022 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 45
IMAGE: LEHVOSS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72