Additive chemistry (AddChem)

The group for additive chemistry synthesizes and evaluates plastic additives, in particular flame retardants, odor retardants, loop-closing additives and compounds for electrochemistry and electrolysis.

In close exchange with other research groups at Fraunhofer ICT, we support partners from academia and industry in the research and development of materials, processes, products, test methods and simulation.

Plastics are flammable. Flame-retardant properties are therefore mandatory for many technical applications - especially in transportation and construction.

We develop flame retardants from the molecular design phase and first synthesis through to upscaling to kg scale. In addition, we optimize flame-retardant formulations based on commercially available flame retardants in combination with a variety of plastic processing technologies and carry out comprehensive and analytically advanced flame retardant and fire tests according to standardized test methods and in-house developments.

We are mainly focused on foams (reactive and thermoplastic, rigid and soft) as well as fiber-reinforced composites and sandwich structures, in the application fields of construction, automotive, rail and aviation.

Plastic recyclates and plastics containing natural materials often have an unpleasant odor. This is not only a problem during production – it also severely limits the application range of the plastics concerned.

We develop odor retardant additives and apply them in combination with various plastic processing technologies to bring odorous plastics into high-quality applications.

A circular plastics economy places high demands on additives. On the one hand, additives bring a plastic recyclate back to life. On the other hand, additives in the material should not affect the closure of the plastics cycle. Even the additives incorporated in the first generation of material are decisive.

We refresh recycled plastics with loop-closing additives and develop and optimize additive systems with regard to environmental impact and recyclability - e.g. by improving their thermal and chemical stability or separability.

Plastics rely on additives for their functional properties. For example, compounds with electronic and protonic conductivity are interesting for electrochemical and electrolysis applications. For the additive manufacturing of plastics ("3D printing"), processing properties and effects between individually printed layers, such as the adhesion of the layers, are of great importance.

We use commercially available additives and in-house solutions for the development of functional compounds.

New technologies, for example in the transport, construction and energy sectors, are associated with unknown security risks which are often difficult to classify. Tests of complete systems and products, such as the destructive test of a complete traction battery or stationary energy storage system, are very costly. However, there are often no generally accepted (pre)tests on test specimens and test systems.

We design, develop and apply innovative flame, fire and explosion protection test methods, drawing on expertise from various research groups at Fraunhofer ICT.
See also:

Fire, flame and explosion protection - Fraunhofer ICT

Environmental impact must become an equivalent optimization parameter to product performance and costs. All product life phases must be taken into account, from raw material extraction and the use phase through to the end of product life and recycling.

Plastic additives have a strong influence on the environmental impact. On the one hand, they can cause environmental pollution - for example, a toxicological potential as in the case of some halogenated flame retardants or some plasticizers. On the other hand, additives improve for example the plastic properties during processing, and thus help to reduce energy and waste during production.

We analyze the environmental impacts of products along the entire life cycle phase - especially in the field of aviation - and include the consideration of environmental impacts in all our additive developments.