International. A consortium of European companies managed to develop a sustainable method for the coating of different plastic materials for sectors such as automotive, electronic devices and sanitary plastic parts.
To avoid the use of traditional techniques such as hexavalent carcinogenic chromic acid, they created a technology based on molecular self-assembly (SAM), with the aim of creating a conductive layer for the metallization process with competitive value. This technology consists of three steps: oxidation, molecular self-assembly and deposition of metal nanoparticles. The meticulous selection of the nanoparticles allows the process to be versatile for use on different plastic surfaces, with one final step in common: the coating process.
The project called "Samdokan" achieved the complete replacement of hexavalent chromium by an alternative to obtain the required roughness and polar functional groups. In addition, it reduced the use of toxic Pd and Sn compounds to replace them with bifunctional compounds derived from silane and nanoparticles.
They were able to use alternative materials to ABS, thus opening a new market for galvanizers in sectors mentioned above. Thanks to the new industrial process developed in the Samdokan project, a reduction of 34% of water consumption with ABS has been achieved, up to 41% of the chemical consumption obtained with LOADED PA and up to 44% with the LOADED PA of the total energy consumption compared to the current process, thus reducing CO2 emissions. As well as a reduction in the material cost of safety measures in industrial plants.
Avanzare, Aimplas, and industrial partners Nickel-plated Mira (specialized in mineral-filled PA for automotive), PGS Plastik (focused on ABS for healthcare) and Durden (specialist in PP with load for white goods appliances) make up the consortium.
With information from www.interempresas.net
