Antistatic plastics are materials loaded with graphite. Thanks to these graphite charges, antistatic plastics go from being insulators to electrical conductors.
Only those materials with graphite fillers have antistatic properties.
It is used for the industry where “clouds” generated by fuels are generated. In areas called zero is where there is the greatest risk of fire.
Mainly antistatic materials are used where contact rubbing occurs. Contact rubbing produces static charge generating current. It is for this reason that they are appropriate materials for installations with hydro-alcoholic environments where deflagration can occur.
Polyethylene is one of the best insulators along with PTFE. Polyethylene, loading it with graphite becomes a conductive material. The graphite filler and other possible components give it the status of ESD material.
A condition to consider an antistatic thermoplastic is that its minimum electrical resistance is 8 ohm.
For PTFE, the loading of graphite also gives it greater hardness and better resistance to wear. In this material, manufacturers do specify the percentage of graphite. The usual 15%. POM or Acetal is also one of the materials that, loaded with graphite, becomes conductors.
All these materials are intrinsically antistatic since this conductive property is characteristic of their chemical composition.
Polycarbonate or methacrylate is antistatic after surface treatment. It is not an intrinsic property. There is no transparent polycarbonate for imitating glass, with antistatic properties in its chemical composition, it is from a surface treatment that is given to both sides. If the upper layers in the form of pockets are lowered, the surface layer will be lost and it will become a common polycarbonate.
The antistatic layers adhered to its surface, at present they are perfectly achieved by specialized manufacturers, they are not appreciable to the human eye. It really is a kind of paint that has a 5 year warranty. Furthermore, these surface layers achieve a product that is highly resistant to chemical attacks. A common polycarbonate has no resistance to chemical attack.
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