Functional Additives

The Use of Microspheres

The primary benefits of using microspheres are weight reduction and cost reduction.  The cost reduction is based on the microsphere mixtures replacing materials that are more expensive on a per volume basis.  There are also some potential performance improvements such as thermal insulation, sound damping, and reduced drying time.

Customers incorporate microspheres into their products in several ways:

• Expanded microspheres can be added to liquid mixtures directly and dispersed with low shear mixing. No elevated temperatures are needed or desired. The microsphere mixtures can then be applied by any number of low shear application methods.
  
  
• Unexpanded microspheres can be added to liquid mixtures and dispersed with low to medium shear mixing. Elevated temperatures are not needed at this point.  However, the microspheres will need to be expanded at some point in a controlled fashion to take advantage of their properties.  Care must be taken to expose the microspheres to the correct temperature range for an optimum period of time while the matrix material is pliable enough to allow the microspheres to expand.
  
  
• Unexpanded microspheres that will be added to thermoplastic materials are best handled via a master batch which is a concentrated pre-dispersion. The master batch polymer must have a working temperature below the Tstart of the microsphere. The master batch can be incorporated into a bulk polymer with simple mixing.  The microspheres must be expanded at some point in a controlled fashion as described in #2 above.

Also read: 8 Reasons Why You Should Consider Polymeric Microspheres

Evaluating New Applications for Microspheres

In order to evaluate the suitability of microspheres in general or specific grades for a new application, the thermal, physical, and chemical compatibility of the microspheres to the manufacturing process and end use of the product must be considered.

Also read: Get the Right Mix of Microspheres & Solvents in Your Formula

Choosing the right microsphere and solvent for your application will be important to the success of your application/product. Let us know if you have any question.