Fine Silica Overview
Fine silica products are designed as a perfect complement for any application where gentle tactile feel is paramount.
Fine silica particles have a lower coefficient of friction than titanium dioxide and other popular fillers. Being perfectly spherical in shape, fine silica particles are able to offer a high degree of flexibility. When combined with resins, fine silica also offer greater surface smoothness and dispersibility. Fine silica products have found widespread use from cosmetics, synthetic leather, catalyst support and as a matting agent for paints.
The principal advantage of M.S. GEL®, SUNSPHERE® and SUNLOVELY is that they enable control over sphere size and pore size of the spherical structure, making it possible to provide long lasting physicochemical characteristics.
M.S. GEL®
M.S. GEL® (microspherical gel) is a silica-based high-purity spherical gel. When formed in a perfectly spherical shape, M.S. GEL® enables higher loading capacity with lower back pressure and good separation performance.
M.S. GEL® is a key component in HPLC technology. Spherical silica gel has outstanding performance levels and maintains far higher rigidity even in a scaled-up system. M.S. GEL®‘s outstanding characteristics are not only utilised in HPLC packings, but can be supplied from analytical to large-scale preparative chromatography. M.S. GEL® is also anticipated to add impressive potential in the refinement of solvents for electronic fields.
M.S. GEL® is used widely in pharmaceutical, biochemistry and agrichemical fields in high performance liquid chromatography packing to separate specified substances. It is also used as a release carrier for cosmetics and fragrances.
SUNSPHERE®
SUNSPHERE® consists of spherical particles of micro-porous silica (amorphous silicon dioxide). Consisting of freely rolling particles, SUNSPHERE® is soft and smooth to the touch, whilst its multiporous composition maintains an excellent capacity for absorption. Derived from silica, SUNSPHERE® also has excellent heat resistance properties
as well as being white, odourless and chemically stable so suitable for contact with people.
SUNSPHERE® has a variety of uses from cosmetics and toiletries to industrial applications such as a matting agent for paints and as a filler for coated printing paper.
SUNSPHERE® is also used as a catalyst support carrier and in synthetic leather.
SUNSPERA®
SUNSPERA®
SUNSPERA®, one of the more recent products launched, is used as a catalyst support in the manufacture of polyethylene and polypropylene, playing a more important role than simply that of a carrier for a catalyst compound. The properties of the silica gel have a significant effect on both the polymerisation process and the properties of the finished polymer.
The pore structure, spherical shape and particle distribution of SUNSPERA® for catalyst support are precisely defined. Using SUNSPERA® gives improved finished polymer resin by increasing the bulk density and also ensures enhanced productivity.
AbSolute® High Cap
AbSolute® High Cap is a high performance Protein A media which has been developed for the capture of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies from large volume fermentation feedstock. It is based on a modified silica matrix that exhibits strong mechanical, thermal and chemical stability.
Exceptional mechanical properties combined with a unique kinetic performance allow operations at higher velocities (up to 1,500cm/h, depending on column size and equipment).
SUNLOVELY®
SUNLOVELY® is the trade name of ultra thin scaly silica particles developed by AGC-Si Technologies. SUNLOVELY® particles are formed by nano-sized ultra-thin silicon dioxide (SiO2) fine particles (primary particles) overlapping with tertiary particles formed by three-way cohesion of the secondary particles.
Applications of SUNLOVELY® range from a filler for polymeric resins and inorganic coatings to heat and chemical resistant paint materials. It is also used in cosmetics and is available in powder form or as a slurry dispersed in water.