Wacker to introduce high-performance TPE additive

Munich, Germany - Wacker Chemie AG will be showcasing a new silicone additive for thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) during the K 2019 plastics trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Marketed under the name Genioplast Pellet 345, the additive lowers the hardness of TPUs, while boosting their elasticity and enhancing their properties.

The surfaces of moulded parts modified with the additive are “pleasantly soft to the touch and more resistant to scratches, abrasion and contamination,” said Wacker in a press release ahead of the show.

The new additive is readily incorporated into thermoplastic polyurethanes and is claimed to have fewer “undesirable secondary effects” compared to conventional silicone products.

The new additive complements Wacker’s portfolio of silicone-based additives for the compounding of thermoplastic polymers.

While the product has been specifically developed for TPUs, it can be used for modifying other thermoplastic elastomers as well.

The product, for instance, can “markedly boost” the properties of thermoplastic polyamide and copolyester elastomers, Wacker said.

Supplied as pellets, the silicone copolymer is processed like a thermoplastic.

Thanks to organic polymer segments incorporated in the product, the material is compatible with thermoplastic polyurethanes and disperses “very finely and homogeneously throughout the polyurethane matrix”.

As part of the process, the copolymer becomes physically bound to the matrix and is therefore unable to migrate.

The product is food-contact-authorised in In Europe.