Heat stabilizers for poly (vinyl chloride). I. Synergistic systems based on calcium/zinc stearate

Synergism in poly(vinyl chloride) stabilization was studied by the determination of the dynamic and static stability of 34 different formulations. Nine ratios of Ca/Zn stearate were tested. Both the static and the dynamic stability increased almost linearly with the calcium stearate content, but unfortunately the initial discoloration increased as well. Melt viscosity decreased with an increasing content of calcium stearate. This was mainly caused by the difference in lubrication effect between calcium stearate and zinc stearate. Several co-stabilizers (synergists) for the Ca/Zn system were also evaluated. Among these, polyols were found to be the most effective. The addition of Polyol T 34, which was prepared through a coprecipitation of trimethylol propane and pentaerythritol, resulted in excellent initial color and improved transparency. Trimethylol propane and di-trimethylol propane were also powerful in this respect. The best static stability was observed for compounds containing mannitol and sorbitol, although these formulations were slightly discolored. Pentaerythritol and di-pentaerythritol were very effective in extending the static stability, but they were not useful for the improvement of initial color. Well-known complexing agents like EDTA and dimethylglyoxime were surprisingly ineffective as synergists. The addition of tris(nonylphenyl) phosphite resulted in a somewhat higher thermal stability, but not in any significant color improvement.