Plastics & Rubber

Functional additives

While more standard plastic additives such as thermal and light stabilizers define the longevity of a plastic application, functional additives provide various effects which give a specially wanted functionality to the finished good.

Functional additive substances are added during the manufacturing process, in general through masterbatches and compounds but also very efficiently by direct dosing during the manufacturing of the finished end use article.

They influence specific properties of the final application by giving the new product characteristics like flame retardancy or improved mechanical strength, clarity, or brilliance amongst others. In doing so, they help plastic to expand its range of application and value. Functional additives offered by BASF include flame retardants, antistatic agents, surface modifiers, rheology control and anti-scratch additives, clarifiers, and nucleating agents.

Functional addtives offered by us:

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Flame retardants

Prevent ignition or spread of flame in plastic material. Plastics are used in building and construction, electrical and transport applications that must meet stringent fire safety standards.

Antistatic agents

Help polymers and plastic applications prevent static charge buildup, supporting hygiene and aesthetics.

Anti-scratch additives

Reduce not only the scratch width, depth, and visibility, but the highly stable additives offer no negative impact on parts including low visible bloom, low odor and maintained gloss.

Clarifiers & nucleating agents

Clarifiers and nucleating agents, depending on their use enhance the clarity and brilliance of transparent finished goods, or positively influence mechanical properties as well as having a positive influence on processing speed and production efficiency.

Rheology modifiers

Allow a controlled degradation of polypropylene during extrusion processing and significantly increases the melt flow rate with the possibility to tailor melt-flows to the needs of specific processes and applications.

Fluorescent whitening agents (FWAs) & optical brighteners

Are colorless to weakly-colored organic compounds that, when applied to a plastic, absorb ultraviolet light and re-emit most of the absorbed energy in the visible violet-to-blue fluorescent light.