Silica, an acidic oxide that may be found in a range of minerals as well as synthetically created, is one of the most complicated and abundant families of materials. Fused silica, crystals, pyrolytic silica, silica gel, and aerogel are only a few examples. Structured materials, microelectronics, and food-processing components are all examples of applications.
Alfa Chemistry provides one-of-a-kind silica surface modification services that provide significant performance benefits in a variety of applications. You may improve the surface qualities of nearly any silica-related product with our easy-to-apply surface treatment solutions. Please contact us if you'd like to simply change the surface properties of your items.
Extensive Surface Modification Technology Options
Alfa Chemistry provides a wide range of surface coating technologies for semiconductor materials that can be used to functionalize the surface of silica particles and impart a variety of surface features. The following are some of our surface alteration technologies, but they are not exhaustive. Please contact us for more technical information.
- Coating Technologies for Particle Modification - We can improve particle behavior, reduce aggregation, and improve cross-linking by functionalizing the surface of silica particles.
Learn more about our particle-modified coatings.
Alfa Chemistry Coating Solution Cases
Case 1: Anti-friction polymer composite coating
In the coatings sector, UV curing devices are becoming increasingly common. UV curing resins, on the other hand, usually have a high gloss finish. When opposed to high gloss surfaces, matte finishes are more successful in masking surface flaws like minor scratches, fingerprints, and other flaws. An inorganic filler such as silica is the most widely utilized matting agent in UV curing systems. UV curing is used to produce matte surfaces with superior abrasion resistance by modifying the surface of micro-sized silica.
Silica particles with a diameter of a few microns were chosen since they are required to generate a matte finish. The silica is first treated using silylated aminosilanes (APTES), then the NH2 functional group of the aminosilane is reacted with the diacrylate monomer via the aza-Michael reaction. The presence of NH2 functional groups permits different types of monomers and oligomers to be grafted together. Thus, the performance of silica particles can be tuned by reactivity, chain expansion, compatibility with UV-curable coating formulations and extinction efficiency.
Fig 1. DPGDA grafting onto the surface of silica particles (SiO2-DPGDA) by aza-Michael addition. (Calvez I, et al. 2021)
Why Choose Alfa Chemistry?
- Our custom coated products are thin and green and safe.
- Our solutions are tailored to meet the unique needs of your product.
- We have extensive experience in surface coating of semiconductor materials.
Reference
- Calvez I, et al. (2021). "Preparation and Characterization of Low Goss UV-Curable Coatings Based on Silica Surface Modification Using An Acrylate Monomer." Progress in Organic Coatings. 158: 106369.
