Strong foundation for lightweight materials

Baybond®: waterborne dispersions for fiber sizing – a solution to tweak composite properties

To fully exploit the ability of fibers to reinforce plastics, they are coated with sizing immediately after their manufacture. This protects the fibers from mechanical damage that could occur during subsequent processing. However, the real purpose of the sizing becomes evident in composites, where it is responsible for the mechanical bond between the plastic matrix and the fiber surface, and therefore influences the ultimate strength of the composites. Baybond® waterborne polyurethane dispersions are used as film formers in fiber-sizing formulations. They are specifically developed to ensure excellent fiber protection and maximum reinforcement in thermoplastics.

They feature very good film formation, elasticity, adhesion, and yellowing stability. They can withstand high levels of mechanical stress and exhibit exceptional heat- and hydrolysis-resistance. Another key benefit is the extraordinary stability in combination with common sizing additives, providing a high level of flexibility in customized sizing formulations. Due to the outstanding possibilities in combining different polyurethane building blocks, Baybond® dispersions offer tailor-made solutions to control the hardness, functionalization, molecular weight, and polarity of the film former. These results in sizing formulations through which fibers are optimally treated for further processing and that ensure a high level of reinforcement.

Benefits of Baybond® in a nutshell

• High reliability due to high product consistency
• Stable sizing formulations
• Solely covalent-bonded emulsifiers
• Low thermal yellowing due to aliphatic character
• Cross-linking during compounding via thermally activated polyurethane hardeners
• High water- and glycol-resistance
• Food-contact-compliant grades and cross-linkers (EU 10/2011)

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Baybond® for thermoplastic composite materials