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Easy-flow plastic delights designers
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The Info Box
How nanoparticles change the flow properties
Or: Everything on the move thanks to nanotechnology
The innovation of Ultradur® High Speed lies in adding to the polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) finely distributed nanoparticles with diameters of only 50 to 300 nanometers – with one nanometer (a millionth of a millimeter) being equivalent to the length of four adjacent atoms in a piece of metal. Nanoparticles can greatly influence the properties of a material: essentially, they perform the same function as the tree trunks on which the ancient Egyptians rolled the mighty stones for their pyramids across country – although with Ultradur® High Speed it is the long polymer chains of the injection molded plastic that have to be moved. In this way, these patented tiny particles developed in BASF's central polymer research lab drastically reduce the viscosity of the plastic melt, thereby reducing the required processing temperature.
BASF's development scientists had the task not only of determining the optimal particle sizes, but also of developing processes for distributing them evenly throughout the plastic matrix. Only the combination of a high-tech additive and the special admixing technique modifies the rheology of a plastic so profoundly and opens up the many new applications of Ultradur® High Speed.
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