Cabots CAB-O-SIL ULTRABOND 5760, now available for sale globally, is a high-performance surface treated fumed silica that maximizes adhesive performance, particularly in epoxy formulations. The material can be used in adhesives for use in a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, construction, electronics and flooring, among others. The fastest growing application is for structural adhesives used in vehicle construction where the additive is used in adhesives that replace traditional welding or riveting to bond two parts together.

The use of structural adhesives for building automobiles has steadily increased over the years, and offers advantages over classic bonding techniques, including the ability to use lightweight design components with improved mechanical strength.

"Increasingly, todays vehicles are using more lightweight components such as plastics and composites materials," said Valdemir Prodocimo, Cabot global segment manager, Adhesives and Composites. "These materials work well for reducing the weight of a vehicle and improving fuel efficiency, but they also present a challenge during the assembly process. When you have to integrate a non-metal component to a metal component, you need to bond the parts together using a powerful adhesive."

CAB-O-SIL ULTRABOND 5760 fumed silica is a performance additive that delivers benefits to both adhesive manufacturers and users. When adhesive producers use Cabots new silica in their formulations, they achieve significant time and energy savings during the adhesive manufacturing process. Because CAB-O-SIL ULTRABOND 5760 fumed silica provides higher sag resistance, adhesives producers can reduce their silica loading by 10 to 15 percent, resulting in a lower viscosity adhesive. The lower loading and lower viscosity allows adhesive producers to save time, energy, and money in their production processes.

For automotive manufacturers and other end users, the dynamic viscosity profile of adhesives using CAB-O-SIL ULTRABOND 5760 fumed silica enables a faster application of the material, regardless of the choice of dispensing device. The silica also delivers higher sag resistance creating stable bond lines of the adhesives as the viscosity of the adhesives using CAB-O-SIL ULTRABOND 5760 snaps back to a higher level once the shear forces of application have been removed. CAB-O-SIL ULTRABOND 5760 fumed silica enables a more than 50 percent faster viscosity recovery rate when compared to competitive silica grades.

"As our society continues to drive toward reducing fuel costs and greater energy-efficiency, we are developing products that enable end users to better address these issues and provide the necessary materials to deliver maximum performance," said Prodocimo.

ABOUT CABOT CORPORATION

Cabot Corporation is a global specialty chemical and performance materials company headquartered in Boston, Mass, USA. Cabots other major products are carbon black, fumed silica, inkjet colorants, aerogel, elastomer composites, and cesium formate drilling fluids