Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC; Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hitoshi Ochi) today announced the development of a tin-free catalyst masterbatch (MB) for “LINKLON™” silane cross-linkable resin.

LINKLON™, which has a nearly 40-year track record of success in applications such as pipes and power cable sheathing materials thanks to its resistance to heat and creep (resists deformation even under loads), by mixing a specialized catalyst MB containing tin compounds through the molding process and applying hydrothermal treatment after the molding process.

On the other hand, in recent years, the regulations on tin compounds have been tightened in Europe, limiting the concentration it can be used at and prohibiting its use in items that may come in contact with the skin of infants. This has created strong demand for development of alternatives to catalyst MB containing tin compounds.
The cross-linking speed of conventional catalyst MB containing tin compounds is high, and it is an excellent catalyst when used without coloring on base materials, so it was not easy to develop an alternative. However, MCC discovered a new catalyst alternative to tin compounds, and succeeded in developing a tin-free catalyst MB that has the same level of cross-linking speed and performance as conventional products by applying it to LINKLON™. Products molded with this tin-free catalyst MB have the same level of heat and creep resistance as the those using conventional catalyst containing tin compounds, and can be applied to all grades of LINKLON™.

Furthermore, the newly-developed tin-free catalyst MB has higher cross-linking reaction and reaches speed at normal temperatures, and can fully demonstrate its performance without hydrothermal treatment facilities, which used to be required, so MCC plans to explore new applications and markets for LINKLON™.

MCC started global marketing of LINKLON™, and the tin-free catalyst MB in March 2017. It will push forward with development of existing uses in piping and sheathing materials and new applications and markets taking advantage of its normal temperature cross-linking performance to further accelerate the expansion of its performance polymers business.