NEW HIGHER-PERFORMANCE IR-ABSORBING DYES FOR HEAT SHIELDING
29 March 2006 - Bayer MaterialScience AG

Anyone who owns a car with a panorama roof knows only too well that, when the sun shines, it can very quickly become unbearably hot inside. The reason for this is the infrared rays in sunlight, which heat-shielding systems aim to filter out. Bayer MaterialScience AG has recently made a breakthrough in transparent IR-absorbing dyes for automotive glazing made of Makrolon AG 2677. So far, polycarbonate is the only plastic used for series production of automotive glazing and, at present, it is increasingly being used to manufacture roof modules, e.g. the smart “forfour” panorama roof and the Mercedes Benz A Class and B Class lamella roofs. “The new IR dyes are up to 50 percent more efficient than the dyes previously used for Makrolon. For instance, the dark-transparent colors ideally suited for use in roof modules extensively filter out the infrared rays in sunlight. Grades of Makrolon colored with these dyes absorb the heat radiation at least as effectively as today's established heat-shielding glazing,” explains Volkhard Krause, head of Automotive Glazing in the Polycarbonates Business Unit at Bayer MaterialScience.

The company is offering Makrolon AG 2677, tailored for automotive glazing, in new IR-absorbing grades based on the existing standard colors for heat-shielding glazing. “Achieving the same color locus proved to be particularly challenging. But we didn't want to force our customers to have to change,” says Krause. A further benefit of the new products is that, unlike their predecessors, they can be utilized to manufacture IR-resistant glazing systems more cost-effectively.

http://www.bayermaterialscience.com

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