Page 7 - Handbook of Surface Improvement and Modification

2 Introduction

films, packaging, paints, paper, plastics, printing inks, rubber, sealants, wire and cable,
wood and many other materials.
Ten groups of additives are commercially available for improvement and surface
modification of manufactured materials. These include additives improving scratch and
mar resistance, gloss, surface flattening, tack reduction, tack increase (tackifiers), surface
tension reduction and wetting, surface cleaning, hydrophobization, anti-cratering and lev-
eling, and coefficient of static friction. They are discussed in the separate chapters in the
same order as above.
A companion book entitled Databook of Surface Modification Additives has also
been published. It contains information and data on the additives commercially available
to improve materials by the above-listed modifications. Both books do not repeat informa-
tion. In this book, the main focus is on the methods and mechanisms which are known to
be responsible for the enhancement of material properties with the use of additives.