Thanks to its high specific surface area and unique structure, conductive carbon black is widely used in coatings, inks, plastics, batteries and other fields to build conductive networks. But the accompanying agglomeration and viscosity problems often trouble formulators: carbon black particles tend to self-agglomerate, causing conductivity decay, uneven coatings or uncontrolled processing rheology.
The current market pain points are mainly as follows: first, conventional dispersants struggle to effectively de-agglomerate at low addition levels, requiring excessive dosage that creates cost and performance burdens; second, stability after dispersion is poor, with sedimentation or re-agglomeration appearing after short-term storage, affecting batch consistency; third, different types of carbon black (such as acetylene black, furnace black and Ketjenblack) require substantially different dispersion principles, making general-purpose products difficult to adapt.
Based on years of interfacial chemistry research, Chemi Tech has launched a series of dispersants dedicated to conductive carbon black. Unlike a single wetting mode, this dispersant forms multi-point adsorption through anchoring groups and functional groups on the carbon black surface, combined with steric hindrance chain segments, building a barrier during the grinding or high-speed dispersion stage to prevent particles from re-agglomerating. At the same time, it is compatible with acrylic, polyurethane, epoxy, solvent-based and solvent-free systems, with no need for additional compatibilizers.
The specific solution is divided into four steps: Step 1, evaluate the carbon black type and system solvent, and let the Chemi Tech technical team match the corresponding dispersant model (for example, DC-301 for high-color carbon black and DC-305 for scenarios prioritizing conductivity); Step 2, set the dosage at 5% to 15% of the carbon black mass (adjusted according to carbon black particle size and oil absorption value), add the dispersant and part of the solvent during the premixing stage, and pre-disperse at 600-800 rpm; Step 3, finely grind with a sand mill or three-roll mill to the target fineness (no more than 10 micrometers), recording temperature and viscosity changes to optimize the process; Step 4, after discharge, use a defoamer to eliminate bubbles, and test conductivity (via the four-point probe method or a resistivity meter) and storage stability (7 days of hot storage at 45 degrees Celsius with no sedimentation).
Case: An electronic coatings manufacturer, when developing an antistatic coating, used furnace-process conductive carbon black; the original formula relied on an imported dispersant, with relatively high cost and surface resistance of the finished product fluctuating between 10^6 and 10^8 ohm. After switching to Chemi Tech DC-305, using only an 8% addition based on carbon black mass, grinding time was shortened by 20%, the finished product's surface resistance stabilized at 10^4 ohm, viscosity decreased by 15% to facilitate coating, and no re-agglomeration occurred after six months of room-temperature storage. This dispersant also allows the carbon black content in the formula to be reduced from 18% to 12% while still meeting conductivity targets.
Choosing Chemi Tech means replacing trial-and-error with data-validated dispersion technology. You are welcome to contact us to obtain samples and a technical evaluation report tailored to your carbon black system.