Development of a packaging material using non‐bleed‐type antistatic ionomer

Generally, plastics and plastic films are low in moisture absorption and high in electric insulation. They are inherently vulnerable to static charge build-up, which can result in a variety of problems. We have developed a functional packaging material to solve these static problems, by using a potassium salt of ethylene ionomer, which is a non-bleed-type antistatic agent. Good antistatic performance was shown by evaluating a variety of electric characteristics (e.g. the static decay time, ash test and saturated electrostatic charge and half-life) and surface resistivity. In addition, antistatic performance was achieved on the mLLDPE (non-treated) side in a multilayer structure. This means that the use of potassium ionomer on any layers in a multilayer structure provides antistatic performance, leading to the expectation of developing a wide variety and diversity of packaging materials. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.