How to make plastic glow in the dark

Application in plastic:

This new type of luminous powder of is compatible with acrylic, polyester, epoxy, PVC, polypropylene and polyethylene (HDPE, LDPE etc.) polymers.

Material can be cast, dipped, coated, extruded or molded.

Preferably use master batches or compounds for incorporating luminous powder into plastics.

As luminous material is a very hard substance and the particles have a needle like shape, it is difficult to incorporate into plastic resins directly.

It is recommended to use an extruding temperature as low as possible.

Master batches containing luminous material must be fully dried up before usage.

Plan on using less than classical phosphorescent pigment loading.

Master-Batch Manufacturing:

Preferably use master batches or compounds for incorporating photoluminescent pigment into plastics. As the pigment is a very hard substance and the micro particles have a sharp edged, it is difficult to incorporate into plastic resins directly ( they can be classified as a glass or ceramic ).

Prior to starting a manufacturing of a masterbatch, the interior of the extruder should be thoroughly cleaned of contamination.

The processing temp should be 10 degrees higher than normal run of plastic. The extruder should be cleaned again by running clear resin through until clear resin can be seen coming out of the machine. The recommended machine configuration is one with a distributive screw design and twin hoppers. Use the first to feed the resin and additives and the second to dose the pigment into the polymer melt. This will decrease the abrasion to the extruder surfaces.

If the above method is not possible keep the mixing time of the pigment and resin as short as possible.

Stirring for a long period may cause the resin/pigment to darken, this is not good!

The resin and pigment should be kept dry before the extruding process is started!

Using carrier resins in powder form minimize darkening.

Masterbatches containing up to 50% glow pigment can be manufactured.

Extrusion Molding:

For extrusions a small bore machine would be preferable as to minimize residence time. Extruders with large inside wall areas or equipped with complicated screw geometry tend to cause darkening of the end product.

It is recommended to use an extruding temp. as low as possible (only experimentation will give the correct temp level).

The optimum back pressure should be determined by experimentation.

The color of the pellets being produced should be observed, they should be the same color as the pigment itself.

The best temp. level inside the barrel is closely related to screw geometry and back pressure, these should be determined by repeated experiments.

Injection Molding >>

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