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Definition and Purpose of Antistatic Agents
Antistatic agents are substances that prevent or minimize the build-up of static electricity on materials. They do this by decreasing the material's surface resistivity, allowing electric charges to be rapidly released. Antistatic agents can generally be split into two types: interior additives and external coatings. Internal additives are added in the material processing process and external coatings are sprayed on or coated onto the material surface.

How to Choose the Right Antistatic Agent for Your Application?
Factors to Consider
Type of Material
Plastic: Plastics are very insulating and they attract static electricity. The plastics like PP, PE and PVC are for instance more prone to dust and static and anti-static coatings are needed to make them less resistant on the surface and less static. For engineering plastics like ABS, POM and PA, you can use polyolefin anti-static agents.

Textiles: Anti-static chemicals usually occur in textiles in the form of surfactants like cationic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants and polymer additives. These additives work to lower frictional charge between the fibres, eliminating static.

Metals: Metals themselves are conductors but treatment or coatings can compromise their anti-static properties. So when using anti-static agents on metal surfaces, make sure the agent does not change the conductivity of the metal.

Environmental Conditions
Humidity: The humidity is one of the main factors that determines the efficacy of anti-static agents. Anti-static materials, for example, do better in moist areas. So when selecting an anti-static agent, the relative humidity of the environment must be taken into account.

Temperature: Increasing temperature can accelerate the degrading process of some anti-static materials, therefore heat-resistant anti-static materials should be chosen when using in high temperatures.

Desired Performance
Permanent anti-static effect: Internal anti-statics, for example, polyamide copolymers, are a good choice if you need a long term anti-static performance.

Temporary anti-static effect: For temporary anti-static effects, external coating anti-static treatments like sprays or immersion treatments are possible.