DIC Develops PFAS-Free Surfactants

DIC Develops Environment-Friendly Surfactants Without PFAS DIC Corporation announced the development of environment-friendly surfactants free of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for its MEGAFACE™ EFS product series. These new products serve as suitable alternatives to fluorosurfactants in a wide range of applications including displays, semiconductors, automotive components and coatings, offering performance competitive with traditional fluorosurfactants. The company plans to introduce the product group to various markets including Japan, other East Asian countries, Europe and the United States. The company's target sectors span a wide range from electronic materials to electric vehicles (EV) and batteries. Fluorosurfactants, added in small quantities, reduce the surface tension of liquids, improving emulsification and surface activity. For this reason, they play an important role in detergents, coatings and industrial products, among other uses. However, concerns regarding potential environmental risks associated with PFAS have prompted discussions on regulating these substances, particularly in Europe and the United States. As a result, the need for developing PFAS-free alternatives to fluorosurfactants has increased. In response to growing global demand for sustainable alternatives to fluorosurfactants, DIC began developing a PFAS-free surfactant. Leveraging its proprietary technologies and environment-friendly raw materials, the company succeeded in producing the MEGAFACE™ EFS series with surface activity equal to or superior to traditional fluorosurfactants. While achieving PFAS-free surfactants competitive in performance with fluorosurfactants was seen as a challenging task, DIC has reached this goal with MEGAFACE™ EFS series products that have the ability to reduce surface tension as well as or better than fluorosurfactants, thereby providing superior coating homogeneity. In accordance with its DIC Vision 2030 long-term management plan, DIC is putting forward a fundamental strategy to expand its Functional Products business by focusing on sustainable products. DIC Group plans to leverage its extensive experience and technical capabilities in synthetic resins to accelerate the development of these products and support their sales. Source