How to choose the right UV stabilizer to match plastic products?
As we all know, the ultraviolet components in natural light are also very destructive to plastic products.
Through continuous experiments, we explore anti-ultraviolet rays and delay the aging speed of plastic products, thereby improving the service life of plastic products.
In order to avoid the aging and oxidation problems of plastic products and resist the damaging effect of ultraviolet rays, it is necessary to add ultraviolet stabilizers and antioxidants to the ingredients. So how to choose the right UV stabilizer? We will discuss this issue in this article.
How does UV light damage plastic products?
Since the plastic product itself is a high polymer, it forms a very large polymer material through hydrocarbon linkage.
The ultraviolet light itself carries a very large amount of energy, which can excite the electrons in these chemical materials and make the electrons form free states. Free electrons are easily absorbed by oxygen ions in the air, resulting in the oxidation of hydrocarbon chains in polymer materials.
The oxidation will cause the molecular chain of the plastic material to break, making the plastic brittle and losing its toughness.
This ultraviolet excitation electron, catalyzes the process of plastic oxidation, which is the damage process of ultraviolet light to plastic products.
How to choose the right UV stabilizer to match plastic products?
There are many factors to consider when choosing a UV stabilizer.
Including production conditions, processing equipment, design life of plastic products, use environment, etc.
We have sorted out the reference principles for selecting UV stabilizers for plastic products. The following 4 principles include:
- Compatibility, because while adding UV stabilizer, some antioxidants will also be added. The matching of the two has a certain influence and interaction. Appropriate matching can achieve better results, and unsuitable matching will have the opposite effect. Their operating temperature and processing temperature are usually taken into account. When designing the formula, the melting point of the solid oxidant and the UV stabilizer should not be lower than the processing temperature of the plastic raw material, otherwise the stabilizer will fail during processing.
- Consider the migration of stabilizers. Oxidation reactions usually occur first on the surface of plastic products, requiring anti-ultraviolet stabilizers and antioxidants to continuously migrate from the interior of plastic products to the surface. Therefore, as the oxidation progresses, it will be gradually consumed. Therefore, the migration speed needs to match the oxidation speed of plastic products and the use temperature. Usually, those stabilizers with relatively large relative molecular weight and high melting point should be selected to ensure that plastic products can be protected for a long time.
- Consider the stability of the stabilizer and the use environment. It should be considered whether the environmental changes of the stabilizer during processing and use will lead to abnormal loss of the stabilizer. The processing process requires some high temperature or acid-base environment. In order to avoid the reaction, it is necessary to consider the applicable conditions of the stabilizer. For example, hindered amine light stabilizers are generally weakly basic substances and need to avoid acidic environments. Otherwise, the life of plastic products will be greatly affected.
- Processing conditions, processing equipment and processing technology. Adding UV stabilizers will affect the viscosity of the resin material. When processing stabilizers with a lower melting point, it is necessary to support a certain concentration of color masterbatch first, and then process it into a resin polymer, so as not to affect the effect and product quality.
- Requirements for the use environment. If there are strict environmental protection requirements in the environment, the toxicity of the stabilizer and whether it contains heavy metals should be considered to avoid soil and water pollution.
Conclusion
By considering a variety of conditions, the appropriate UV stabilizer is selected to enhance the performance and product quality of plastic products. This is a very important research and application. We have very rich production experience, and also have a large number of testing and experimental equipment to ensure that our production process and composition ratio can meet customer requirements. This is also a rigid requirement of our strict quality management system.
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