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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Expandable microsphere</span></span>
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<div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content mw-content-ltr" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><p><b>Expandable microspheres</b> are microscopic spheres comprising a <a href="Thermoplastic" title="Thermoplastic">thermoplastic</a> shell encapsulating a low boiling point liquid <a href="Hydrocarbon" title="Hydrocarbon">hydrocarbon</a>. When heated to a temperature high enough to soften the thermoplastic shell, the increasing pressure of the hydrocarbon will cause the microsphere to expand.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The volume can increase by 60 to 80 times.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Expandable_microsphere">Expandable microsphere</h2></div>
<p>The expandable microsphere is a material that can act as a blowing agent when mixed in a product and subsequently heated to cause expansion within the matrix.
The expandable microspheres are off-white, can be 6 to 40 micrometers in average diameter and have a density of 900 to 1400 kg/m<sup>3</sup>.
The expandable microspheres are used as a blowing agent in products like e.g. puff ink,<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> automotive underbody coatings or injection molding of thermoplastics.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Here the product must be heated at some point in the process for the expandable microspheres to expand.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Expanded_microsphere">Expanded microsphere</h2></div>
<p>The expanded microsphere is a material that has been heated to cause expansion. The product acts as a light weight filler in many products.
The expanded microspheres are white, can be 15 to 90 micrometers in average diameter and can have a density of 15 to 70 kg/m<sup>3</sup>.
The expanded microspheres are used as a lightweight filler in composite materials such as <a href="Cultured_marble" class="mw-redirect" title="Cultured marble">cultured marble</a>, in waterborne paints and crack fillers/<a href="Joint_compound" title="Joint compound">joint compound</a>.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Characteristics">Characteristics</h2></div>
<p>Characteristics that make expandable microspheres unique,
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<ul><li>Ability to expand</li>
<li>Resilient</li>
<li>Ultra-low density when expanded</li>
<li>Closed cells that can be distributed evenly</li>
<li>Can introduce a pressure in the production process</li></ul>
<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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<li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Patent US 3,615,972 "Expansible thermoplastic polymer particles containing volatile fluid foaming agent and method of foaming the same"</span>
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<li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Expandable microspheres in inks: advances in look and feel, Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, August 2009, page 32-33</span>
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<li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"New developments with expandable microspheres", Klas Elfving, Expancel. The Fifth International Conference Blowing agents and Foaming Processes 2003, Rapra.</span>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2></div>
<ul><li><a href="Cenosphere" title="Cenosphere">Cenosphere</a></li>
<li><a href="Glass_microsphere" title="Glass microsphere">Glass microsphere</a></li>
<li><a href="Microbead" title="Microbead">Microbead</a></li>
<li><a href="Microplastics" title="Microplastics">Microplastics</a></li>
<li><a href="Plastic_particle_water_pollution" class="mw-redirect" title="Plastic particle water pollution">Plastic particle water pollution</a></li></ul></div><!--htdig_noindex--><div><div class="zim-footer">
This article is issued from <a class="external text" title="Last edited on 2021-01-26" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/?title=Expandable_microsphere&oldid=1002807520">Wikipedia</a>. The text is available under <a class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0</a> unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.
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