Production of a novel anti-static dust-free varnish

Accumulation of static charges on the surface of various products such as furniture, cars, car maintenance systems and household utilities can cause electrical discharge, dust accumulation and even fire or explosion. For this reason, the addition of antistatic properties to the final varnish coating is of outmost importance. Static charges can be accumulated on the surface of the product as a result of its touch with other charged materials and products due to various activities such as transportation, storing and etc. This phenomenon can lead to very dangerous situations. In this study, the production of antistatic varnish is targeted by the use of nano particles of ZnO in which their surface was modified to obtain desired properties. The process of surface modification of these nano particles were designed with the use of three different silane (MTS, APS and Myristic Acid). The modified Zinc Oxide nano particles were then further investigated by X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses to ensure that a successful modification of the surface of nano particles was carried out. Comparison among the test results of the samples whose surface were modified with the use of MTS, APS and Myristic Acid with ZnO showed that the process of surface modification was successful and the modified Zinc Oxide nano particles are ready to be used in varnish for the purpose of providing the varnish with antistatic properties. The produced antistatic agent was then mixed with the resin before the polymerization process. The resulting mixture was cast into petri dish and allowed to dry. The surface resisitivity of polymeric films was measured by Keithley 6517B Electrometer/High Resistance. Polymeric film samples produced with ZnO nano-particles which were modified by Myristic asid yield the lowest surface resistivity. According to obtained results, the average value was obtained to be around 1012 ohm/sq due to which the produced varnish can be categorized as antistatic material.