The color orange has a cheerful and refreshing, warm and dynamic effect. At the same time, this color tone sends a strong signal. When it comes to engineering plastics for use in demanding applications, however, useful orange pigments are few and far between. With its Sicopal® Orange K 2430, BASF is remedying this state of affairs. This new, extraordinarily stable inorganic mixed oxide is well-suited for areas of application in which many organic pigments fail, including those where high UV resistance and weathering resistance are required or where there is a need to withstand aggressive chemicals and high temperatures. But even aside from these high-end applications, this intensely colored, brilliant BASF pigment, with its very good covering capacity, can bridge existing gaps since this product expands the palette of warm, thermally stable orange shades into a new dimension.
Nowadays, anyone who would like to make a plastic product in an attractive color can choose from a broad spectrum of colorants. Especially organic pigments have proven to be exceptionally multi-faceted. BASF today is the industry leader in organic as well as inorganic pigments.
Nevertheless, there are areas where the search for the right colorant can be quite challenging for designers. Particularly in plastics processing technology, there is a demand for not only color intensity and brilliance but also for a number of other properties, one example being temperature resistance. For most organic pigments, the typical processing temperatures of some polymers (e.g. more than 300 degrees Celsius [572 degrees Fahrenheit] for polyamide) cause rapid degradation. At certain temperatures, even the inorganic alternatives undergo phase transformations that substantially affect the color impression. Such pigments are not suitable for use in plastics at high processing temperatures.
These limitations are responsible for the fact that, for certain colors, there are by far not as many pigment choices as colorists would like. In spite of the strong psychological significance of this color shade, orange pigments are scarce when it comes to demanding areas of application. Many of the pigments currently available exhibit insufficient brilliance and low color intensity, which is why not all segments of the orange color spectrum are adequately covered.
Sicopal Orange K 2430 sets new standards in numerous aspects. The pigment is suitable for use in a wide array of technically relevant plastics, ranging from polyolefins to PVC and PS all the way to ABS, PC, PET, PBT and PA. In particular, it is stable even at temperatures above 320 degrees Celsius [608 degrees Fahrenheit], and is thus resistant under the processing conditions of all known plastics. Moreover, it can replace often employed products containing cadmium and lead.
This pigment is also very attractive from the standpoint of processing technology: it is easy to disperse, that is to say, it can be distributed very evenly and quickly throughout the polymeric matrix. This is conducive to the production of films and fibers that are free of gel particles. Thin-walled molded parts such as housings and covers come out of the mold without displaying any warpage, in other words, with high dimensional stability. Furthermore, Sicopal Orange K 2430 does not exhibit any tendency to migrate and has been approved in the European Union for food packaging and for use in toys; an application for FDA approval has been submitted.
