Thermoset plastics – how to improve its durability and color stability?
Thermoset plastics, with thermosetting resin as the main component. It is a plastic that forms products by cross-linking and curing process with various necessary additives. In the early stage of the manufacturing or molding process it maintains the liquid. After curing it is insoluble. In other words, it can no longer melt or soften.
What is the difference between thermoset plastics and thermoplastics?
Thermoset plastic can soften the flow when it is first heated to a certain temperature. Then a chemical reaction will be resulted ( A cross-linking reaction), which lead to solidifies and hardens. This change is irreversible!
The resin molecular chains in thermoplastic polymers are linear or branched chains. It can soften and flow when heated, and the process of cooling and hardening is a physical change, in other word it’s reversible.
What are the main types of Thermoset plastics?
- Phenol-formaldehyde Resin (PF); it has advantages of easy molding, good dimensional stability and above all, good electrical insulation. It results in good heat resistance as well. The main applications are electrical receptacles and coatings & adhesives.
- Animoplastics (AF); it has advantages of hard plastic, scratch resistant and colorless and translucent. Main applications are industrial parts, medical instruments, decorative materials and heat & sound insulation materials.
- Urea-formaldehyde resin (UF); it is colorless and transport and good heat resistance. Together with high hardness and good mechanical properties it has great advantages for applications like tableware and furniture.
- Melanine-formaldehyde resin (MF); advantages of high hardness, wear resistance and flame retardant. Excellent for applications as coatings, decorative panels, molding materials and adhesives.
- Epoxy resins (EP); Excellent bonding effect, electrical insulation and resistant to chemicals corrosion. With these advantages the main applications are for example adhesives and coatings.
- Organic silicon resin; advantage of electrical insulation and heat resistant and water aversion. Therefor, it is interesting for electrical insulating material.
- Unsaturated polyester resin; advantages of low pressure molding and glass fiber reinforced type. Main applications are Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) manufacturing and potting materials.
- Polyurethane; this is light foamable and easy process. As a result, main applications are furniture, packaging and coatings.
How to improve the durability and color stability of thermosetting plastics
Although most thermosetting plastics have the advantages of heat resistance, good electrical insulation, but with the development of industrial technology, more and more areas put forward higher requirements for color retention and durability.
First important improvement can be made with UV absorbers. We will highlight two of our key UV absorbers for thermoset polymers:
The Omnistab UV 1 is mainly aimed at UV B band protection. Omnistab UV 1 is the product you need if your are working with thermosetting plastics with high cost performance. Like polyurethane, adhesives, foam and other thermoset molding materials.
The Omnistab UV 1577 is excellent for systems with high requirements for product transparency and color stability. Such as high-end furniture decorative board, car decorative materials and artificial jewelry.
Secondly, suitable antioxidants can greatly extend the service life and durability. Especially when you use them in combination with UV absorbers.
The best way is to add a hindered phenolic antioxidant, Omnistab AN 1076, with a macro-molecular auxiliary antioxidant, Omnistab AN 626. It not only plays a protective role in the process, but also play a lasting role in the use stage. It will alleviate the photo oxygen aging degradation of the material.
If you want to know more about this topic or if you have a specific inquiry related to your production process, please contact us!
Frequently asked questions
Examples of thermoset plastics are Phenol-formaldehyde Resin (PF), Animoplastics (AF), Urea-formaldehyde resin (UF), Melanine-formaldehyde resin (MF), Epoxy resin (EP), Organic silicon resin, Unsaturated polyester resin & Polyurethane.
It is a plastic that forms products by cross-linking and curing with various necessary additives. In the early stage of the manufacturing or molding process it maintains the liquid. After curing it is insoluble. In other words, thermoset materials can no longer melt or soften.
Thermoplastics can melt under heat after curing while thermoset plastics retain their form and stay solid under heat once cured.
The biggest drawback of thermoset plastic is it can’t be recycled. To extend the service life of the product the plastic can last longer.
Chinaplas 2023
We will be exhibiting at the upcoming Chinaplas. The Chinaplas is being held in Shenzhen…
How to maintain the high performance of coatings?
To be able to answer the question how to maintain the high performance of coatings,…
European Coating Show 2023
We will be exhibiting at the upcoming European Coating Show (ECS). The ECS is being…
Polyamide engineering plastic
Polyamide (abbreviated PA), commonly known as nylon, is the common name of the thermoplastic resin…
Polyurethane Sealants
Polyurethane sealants are composed of polyurethane rubbers and polyurethane prepolymers. Such sealants have high tensile…
Happy holidays
On behalf of our team: we wish you happy Holidays, all the best to you…
Expectations for early 2023
We as Partners in Chemicals want to ensure that we can serve our customers on…
Better weather resistance of polypropylene fabric
Polypropylene (PP) fiber is a synthetic fiber spun from isotactic polypropylene, which is polymerized by…
Dubai branch office management buy-out
Since 2014 Partners in Chemicals is, under the name of ICG Specialty ChemicalsFZCO, operational in…
Thank you for visiting us!
Thank you for visiting us during Plasteurasia 2022 at the booth of our partner Etkin…
Hindered phenolic antioxidants for protection of polymers
Hindered phenolic antioxidants are compounds that have substituents on one or both sides of the…
K fair 2022 in Düsseldorf
We will be exhibiting at the upcoming K fair in Düsseldorf for the 5th time…
How to obtain better performance with Polyurethane adhesives?
Polyurethane (PU) adhesives are adhesives that contains -NHCOO- and/or isocyanate group (-NCO-) in the molecular…
Modified plastic in lightweight cars
In recent years, the development of the automotive industry revolves around lightweight, environmental protection and…
How to alleviate polyurethane yellowing?
In this article we will explain how to alleviate polyurethane yellowing. Polyurethane products are widely…
Making high-end textiles UV-resistant
UV-resistant treatment is an essential part of the functional textile finish for making high-end textiles…
Silicone adhesives
The silicone adhesives used in the early days came from natural materials. For instance, animal…
Optical Brighteners
Optical Brighteners are additives to mask the inherent yellowness and improve colors and make your…
Water-based sustainable paint
As people’s awareness of health and environmental protection is gradually improving, water-based sustainable paint is…
Omnistab Benzotriazole UV absorbers
Omnistab Benzotriazole UV absorbers have exceptionally strong and broad UV absorption properties throughout the UV…
Limit electricity for carbon reduction
The Chinese government has decided to limit electricity for carbon reduction. China is aiming to…
Excellent hydrolysis resistance phosphite antioxidant
Do you choose the right antioxidant to increase the heat aging resistance of materials? The…
Plastics with UV absorbers, a “Protective umbrella”
Almost all plastics that are exposed to sunlight or other outdoor weather conditions require protection….
Efficient liquid UV absorber
The Omnistab UV 1 is an efficient liquid UV absorber, which can absorb ultraviolet light…
Nucleating agent for polyamide
In this article, we will take a closer look at a nucleating agent for polyamideThe…
Omnistab series for automotive coatings
Automotive coating is one of the fastest developing coatings worldwide. New products are usually better…
UV Filter Sunscreen
Meteorologically, it is still winter in the Northern Hemisphere. However, the first rays of the…
What do you know about Powder coating?
What is powder coating? It is quite simple, but we would like to explain it…
Adhesives and Sealants protective products
Adhesives and sealants are essential products in many industries. Their applications range from paper, packaging,…
The world of fiber applications
What are fiber applications? Today, more than half of all fiber consumed is synthetic. For example,…
“Gorgeous modification” of Benzotriazole UV absorber
Omnistab UV 360 is a very efficient benzotriazole UV absorber. It has good UV absorption…
Expectations early 2021
This year was different from other years and a huge challenge for everyone. Working differently…
New product groups
New product groups coming soon! We are continuously working on our product portfolio to serve…
Today’s highlight is a triazine UV absorber
A triazine UV absorber has excellent properties. In addition, the dosage you need to put…
Antioxidant for long-term thermal stabilization
Looking for an antioxidant for long-term thermal stabilization? You probably need an asymmetric hindered phenol…
UV Absorber used in a wide wavelength spectrum
In this article we will explain more about the UV absorber used in a wide…
Temperature resistant anti oxidant
An excellent temperature resistant anti oxidant is the Omnistab AN 80. The organic combination of…
PP Fibers
Looking for more stability of your polypropylene fibers (PP fibers)? Our Omnistab LS 119 is…
PE wax
In this article we will explain the characteristics and features of polyethylene wax (PE wax)….
Evaluation of new light stabilizers
Choosing your product among all available light stabilizers in the market is challenging. Based on…
Light stabilizer 2020
As of June 2020, we expand our product range with the development of, ironically, Light…
Sustaining Textile
Producing sustainable products is a hot topic. Especially in the field of clothes, it all…
Prolong the lifecycle of your engineering plastics
Engineering plastics and resins instead of metal? Yes we can. In this article we will…
UV absorbers in cosmetic industry
Sunscreen is an eternal topic in cosmetics, but it cannot exist without UV absorbers in…
Chinaplas 2021
Under current circumstances of the COVID-19, the Chinaplas will be postponed again. The 34th Chinaplas…
Omnistab Additives in Water-based Coatings
Water-based coating are coatings that uses water as a diluent and does not contain organic…
Corona virus
In this news letter we give you an update regarding to the latest Corona virus…
Additives for polyolefins
What are polyolefins? Polyolefin is a type of polymer of olefins. For example, polypropylene or…
Principles of stabilizers
Light stabilizers are important additives in rubber and plastic applications. In this article we focus…
Happy Chinese New Year
It has been a pleasure to work with you this year, we wish you a…
Anti yellowing agents
We launched two anti yellowing agents, Omnistab HN 130 & Omnistab HN 150. Both are…
Comparison test PA6 with Omnistab LS 5519
In October we introduced the new light stabilizer for Polamide (PA); Omnistab LS 5519. To…
Light stabilizer for nylon – Omnistab LS 5519
Omnistab LS 5519 is a highly efficient light stabilizer for nylon. For example, polyamide (PA)….
Liquid Anti Oxidant
In the world of additives you see a large group of anti oxidants in powder, granular and flake form. However, if you are looking for a liquid anti oxidant
UV absorber for agriculture film
There are many different UV absorbers, but there is one that really stands out if…
Natural Rubber Latex
Since the start of Partners in Chemicals we offer the market Natural Rubber Latex. Natural…
Explosion Eastern China
An explosion at a pesticide plant in eastern China is the latest in a series…
End of cooperation with the NRC Group
Partners in Chemicals has decided, in mutual agreement with Nordmann Rassmann (NRC), to end our…
Evaluation of three UV absorbers
In this article we evaluate three different UV absorbers. They have advantages and associated characteristics….
High performance light stabilizer for coatings
In this article we highlight the performances of our Omnistab LS 123. This product is…
Near Infrared Absorber for Laser Beam Welding
Laser Technology Laser technology was originally used in 1970 to weld plastic film with CO2…
Update on chemical factory closures in China
The main purpose of China’s “Cease-Work Orders” is to optimize the atmospheric environment and control…
Introducing N3coat
It’s all about people “I believe in an honest and open way of doing business….
Omnistab NIR LW
The right laser absorber The diode laser has a wavelength of 800 ~ 1000nm and…
How to stop the yellowing of polyurethane flexible foam
A great number of manufacturers, including those that make high-grade sponge, have tried different solutions….
Liquid triazine UV absorber
Omnistab UV 400 is a liquid triazine UV absorber for coating products. We specially developed…
Chinaplas 2017
Partners in Chemicals presents Together with Longquan Chemicals, our booth in Hall 9.3 on stand…
Daniel Knegt
ITU WPS Gold Coast Recently he participated in the ITU WPS Gold Coast with his…
OMNISTAB UV 1600
Therefore, polymer additives are essential during manufacturing processes. It safeguards the exquisite look of surfaces…
Restrain on Chinese chemical production
The Chinese government started a straightforward campaign to decrease water pollution to control the waste…
ICG Specialty Group expands portfolio
The ICG Specialty Group is a global supplier of polymer additives whose proprietary Omnistab brand…
European Coatings Show 2016
During the European Coatings show we also showed the new generation product: Omnistab NIR. Its…
New environmental laws implemented
Why is the Chinese Chemical industry struggling? “There is still large gap in result between…
Introducing partnership with Deltachem
A Chinese partner of choice “We work with people from the Netherlands, China, Israel, Dubai,…