Permanent Antistatic Agents: Polymer Additives for Static Control to Ensure ESD Protection, Explosion Safety and Dust Prevention

Plastics and plastic products have become part of our daily lives. However, nearly all plastics are insulators. This physical property can cause problems during use, lead to losses and even major accidents.

Electrostatic "shocks" are known to cause various difficulties and workplace hazards. Since the static field acts like an electrostatic sweeper, plastic products easily attract dust and impurities – a situation that causes production problems, efficiency losses and aesthetic defects. High-energy sparks (ESDs) cause explosions in many industries such as chemicals and mining. According to data from various studies, annual losses due to static electricity alone in the electronics sector exceed tens of millions of dollars. Static electricity – if energy is not properly managed or controlled – is an invisible bomb ready to explode at any moment. Traditional technologies based on migratory antistatic additives or conductive fillers (such as conductive carbon black) do not provide a reliable solution for ESD protection. Migratory antistatic additives have a limited shelf life, do not function in low-humidity environments and contaminate packaged products as a result of their migration. Because they rapidly dissipate electrical current, polymers using conductive fillers require continuous grounding. Grounding can create mud contamination problems, and a possible lack of contact can create hazardous conditions during packaging and use. IonPhasE®IPE® polymer additives belong to the group of Intrinsically Dissipative Polymers (IDPs). These products – without the difficulties of traditional technologies – provide the most reliable ESD protection solutions for plastics.

IonPhasE®IPE® Technology

IonPhasE®IPE® patented technology is based on a self-organizing, continuous ionic conductive polymer structure. At this point, ions are able to neutralize charge imbalances. Plastic products containing IonPhasE®IPE® – with permanently unchanged static electricity dissipative properties (persistent antistatic effect) – have the capability to dissipate static electricity and excellent functionality at low relative humidity (<12% RH). The non-migratory polymeric network structure provides static control properties for many demanding applications.

IonPhasE®IPE® Main Application Areas Electronics

ESD Protection and Production Efficiency Enhancement

Electronic Packaging and Housings

• Trays, plates, • Carrier reels and tapes, • Protective films, ESD bags, • Covers and housing parts,  

Chemical Raw Material Packaging

Dust and Explosion Control, Process and Efficiency Improvement    

Industrial Films, Flexible and Rigid Packaging

• RIBC, drums, cans, • FIBC, • Liners, bags        

Food Packaging

Dust and Explosion Control, Process and Efficiency Improvement

Packaging Films

• FIBC, • Liners, bags.        

Automotive

ESD Protection and Dust Prevention

Automotive Interior Components

• Panels, frames, covers, • Other parts.        

Consumer Appliances

ESD Protection and Dust Prevention Protective and Other Parts • Panels, frames, covers, • Other parts.    

IonPhasE®IPE® Properties and Static Control Performance

With IonPhasE®IPE®, the desired static electricity dissipative property can be imparted to the product with minimal impact on the properties of the base material. Static control properties depend on IonPhasE®IPE® loading as well as the base polymer and processing methods. Without changing the base polymer and processing method, static electricity control properties can be brought to the desired level by adjusting the IonPhasE®IPE® loading amount. Typical loading rates range between 5% and 25%.

Surface Resistance

Typical surface resistance values of plastic products containing IonPhasE®IPE® range between 1x107 and 1x1010 ohms (IEC61340-2-3).

Humidity Independence

IonPhasE®IPE® is independent of humidity and functions even at low relative humidity rates (<12% RH). At relative humidity rates above 50%, the natural conductivity created by ambient moisture may have a subtle effect on static electricity dissipative properties.

Durability Properties

Due to its stable, non-migratory polymeric network structure, static electricity dissipative properties are preserved throughout the application's service life.

Charge Relaxation Time

Typical charge relaxation times of plastic products containing IonPhasE®IPE® range between 0.2 and 2 seconds. Kübra Alper / Technical Sales Manager / Üçgen Pigmenler ve Polimer Katkıları