Research for the Future

CoverForm®: one-step in-mold scratch resistance for PMMA

The cell phone display, the panel on the household appliance, and the speedometer cover in a car have one thing in common: All are made of transparent plastics whose surfaces are exposed to mechanical stress and to the harsh stresses of chemicals such as cleaning agents and hand creams. For tough conditions such as these, PLEXIGLAS® parts are coated with a scratch resistant film that also provides high resistance to chemicals. The fourteen steps it used to take to create a ready-assembled and finished component have been reduced to four—thanks to CoverForm®, a technology developed in cooperation with KraussMaffei.

New functional silanes for the construction and filler industries

The Buda Castle in Budapest (Hungary) was restored in 2008. Ever since, the walls have been protected against humidity by Protectosil® WS 630, one of the new functional silanes that Evonik developed from a side stream of the production of organofunctional chlorosilanes. Fresh on the market, the silane has leapt directly to the walls of probably the best known building in Budapest—because, like the other members of Evonik's new product family, it reduces emissions of volatile organic substances by up to 85 percent, and provides excellent corrosion protection for concrete.

Organic solvent nanofiltration developed to application readiness

When it comes to softening water, nanofiltration is the method of choice. But in the past, chemists found it hard to transfer the principle to chemical processes, where it could be used to separate solvents or homogeneous catalysts, for example, from reaction mixtures with minimal energy: most membranes are unstable in organic solvents and do not achieve the required separation. Evonik has now solved the problem with a completely new class of polymers that also work as membranes on the commercial scale. Consequently, a more sustainable production process with solvent recovery based on energy-saving nanofiltration instead of energy-intensive distillation is no longer a roadblock.

New and ready for the market

With its in-house Innovation Award, Evonik each year honors three teams of employees for outstanding research in the three categories New Products, New and Improved Processes, and New Systems Solutions. To receive an award, a team must prove that its project has successfully made the leap from lab to market. The jury, comprising internal and external experts, assesses the projects on the basis of defined criteria. The developments must be new and ready for the market, or have already been introduced to the market; they must offer economic and ecological advantages; and they must also have a recognizable value for society. Valuable points are also awarded for originality and creativity.