What Carbon Black Is and What Its Uses Are

Carbon black is a crucial element in almost everything we use and rely on nowadays. It’s used in almost every industry that needs UV stabilizing, better colors, insulation, and more. This is a precious substance for many businesses, including the automotive one.

The material helps prolong lifespan, deepen colors, and make other things stronger. It’s a deep black powder made from elemental carbon. The process of manufacture is complicated and needs highly controlled conditions as you need to burn oil residues, which involves very high temperatures.

You’re using a part of carbon black when working with:

• Tires;
• Hoses;
• Plastics;
• Inks;
• Coatings, etc.

All of them have the element as a pigment strengthener, insulation, durability improver, and UV radiation stabilizer.

The use of the substance is determined by its properties like structure and porosity. We’ll review all the vital ones to make it easier for you to understand which kind you may need (as well as for general education).

How Chemically Active the Surface Is

This metric is measured by the oxygen present on the surface of carbon black. Depending on the industry the substance is used in, higher oxygen levels increase pigment wetting and dispersion, as well as the overall quality.

Other properties include:

• Resistance to electricity;
• Hydrophilic qualities.

The chemical activity can be detected by pH level. The lower it is, the more oxygen there is on the surface.

How Porous Carbon Black Is

This measurement can be controlled during manufacture. The surface of the object increases without the increase in mass. This helps create lighter products and increases conductivity without the change of physical parameters.

The Physical Form of Carbon Black

This property is important for the equipment choice. Most commonly, carbon black comes in powder and beads. The first form is suitable for regular mills and dispensers. But if you’re using beads, choose a shot or ball mill.

Both forms have their pros:

• Dust disperses better;
• Beads offer lower dusting.

The Size of Carbon Particles

The particle size determines the effectiveness of the carbon. Smaller ones indicate that the material will provide more tint, better strength, weather resistance, higher conductivity, and a number of other properties.

If you have a finer powder, it will also help by improving:

• Weather and damage resistance;
• Reinforcement;
• Tensile strength.

You can find particles of 8 to 100 nanometers.

The Substance Structure

The structure means the fusion of the particles to form a material. There are many complex ways to measure structure, and the better it is, the better electrical conductivity the resulting product will have.

It also improves viscosity and improves color blending.

Rubber-wise, a higher level of structure increases the hardness of the material, as well as its modulus.

Carbon black is an essential element of modern manufacturing. While people are looking for other protective substances that can be made without high temperatures and potential ecology threats, carbon is still one of the leading materials used across the globe to make things stronger, radiation and damage resistant, weather-resistant, deeper in color, and better in quality.