Oct 17 2007
DuPont today introduced DuPont™ Light Stabilizer 210, a product designed as sun protection for plastics. It is an ultrafine/nano titanium dioxide that provides a low cost, high performance alternative to competing products and delivers superior broad-spectrum ultraviolet (UV) blocking performance against UVA and UVB rays. It features low chemical interaction with other ingredients both initially and upon UV exposure. DuPont™ Light Stabilizer 210 is designed for a broad range of plastics applications including films, packaging, construction and transportation.
The product uses extremely small particles of titanium dioxide to efficiently absorb ultraviolet light, protecting plastic and anything it covers from the sun’s damaging rays. The key performance advantage of the new light stabilizer is that its extremely small particle size provides excellent scattering and absorption of UV light. Further, the small size titanium dioxide does not significantly pigment the plastic allowing UV stable parts that can be produced in a wide variety of colors.
Because a sizeable percentage of titanium dioxide particles in the product are nanoscale, it was selected as a demonstration case for application of the Nano Risk Framework introduced by DuPont and Environmental Defense in June. The Framework is a systematic and disciplined process to evaluate and address the potential risks of nanoscale materials. DuPont™ Light Stabilizer 210 is the first product to be commercialized after applying the Framework.
Titanium dioxide is widely used as a pigment in the coatings, plastics and paper industries.
DuPont is the world’s largest manufacturer of TiO2. DuPont™ Light Stabilizer 210 is the first in a family of products based on breakthrough DuPont titanium dioxide process technology. It will be available for sale in November.
DuPont™ Light Stabilizer 210 is an additive designed to help protect plastic products from cracking, fading and other types of solar degradation. Potential applications include sporting goods, outdoor furniture, fabrics and carpet fibers – virtually any plastic product that will be exposed to sunlight. It also can be used in plastic films and sheeting to protect plants in greenhouses or packaged goods from UV light. In testing, DuPont™ Light Stabilizer 210 blocked twice as much ultraviolet light as several classes of competing products.
“Many existing light stabilizers on the market today can migrate from the plastic over time reducing their effectiveness,” said Gary K. Whiting, global venture manager for the new product. “Unlike some conventional light stabilizers, testing has shown that DuPont™ Light Stabilizer 210 does not migrate out of the plastic under normal conditions, so products incorporating it have a much longer useful lifetime.”
The development of DuPont™ Light Stabilizer 210 is an example of DuPont Nanoscale Science & Engineering, an emerging technology domain that is creating new growth opportunities across many sectors of the DuPont business portfolio. The application of new tools and techniques for the measurement, characterization and control of nanoscale features provides the ability to more precisely tailor known materials to more effectively deliver desired properties and to enhance functional benefits. Nanoscale Science & Engineering further strengthens the company’s integrated and diverse technology capabilities to create high performance, novel products that meet current and future market needs.
DuPont is a science-based products and services company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by creating sustainable solutions essential to a better, safer, healthier life for people everywhere. Operating in more than 70 countries, DuPont offers a wide range of innovative products and services for markets including agriculture and food; building and construction; communications; and transportation.