Nanoscale Ti02 Particles Help Protect Plastics

DuPont has introduced DuPont™ Light Stabilizer 210, a product designed as sun protection for plastics. 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.

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 that DuPont and Environmental Defense introduced in June. The Framework is a systematic and disciplined process to evaluate and address the potential risks of nanoscale materials.

DuPont is the world’s largest manufacturer of titanium dioxide, which is widely used as a pigment in the coatings, plastics and paper industries. 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 for use in plastics to help protect 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 competitive products.

“Our titanium dioxide manufacturing technology has transformed several times in the more than 70 years since it entered the DuPont product family,” said Rick Olson , vice president and general manager, DuPont Titanium Technologies. “It’s extremely gratifying to see this material transform yet again into a high performance product made using DuPont nanoscale science.”