Unlocking the outstanding performance of Carbopol 980: from microstructure to wide applications

1, Core Performance and Wide Application

In cosmetics, pharmaceutical excipients, personal care products and other fields, Carbomer 980 has become an indispensable key ingredient with its efficient gel preparation, emulsification stability and suspension aid ability. The mystery of the outstanding performance of this synthesized polymer lies in its unique microscopic molecular structure. Understanding how its structure changes with the environment is the core of mastering its application technology.

2, Molecular Structure and Model Differentiation

From a chemical perspective, carbomer is polymerized from acrylic monomers and undergoes crosslinking with allyl sucrose or allyl pentaerythritol during the polymerization process, forming a three-dimensional network structure. It is precisely due to the subtle differences in the crosslinking components and degree used that different types of carbomers are created. Among numerous models, Carbopol 980 and Carbopol 940 have been widely used due to their balanced and excellent characteristics.

Carbopol Powder

3, Structural changes before and after dissolution

In the dry powder state, the molecular structure of Carbopol 980 exhibits a highly compact curled shape. Each acrylic unit on its massive polymer chain is tightly packed, which makes the physical space occupied by the dry powder very small.

When dispersed in an aqueous environment, a microcosm of "expansion" drama begins to unfold. Water molecules will penetrate into the polymer network and undergo hydration with polar groups on the polymer chains. During this process, the previously tightly coiled carbon chains will gradually stretch out, causing the entire molecular structure to rapidly expand and the volume to significantly increase. This swelling process directly leads to an increase in the viscosity of the system, and the more fully the molecular chains stretch, the higher the viscosity of the system.

4, Neutrality effect: the peak moment of performance

The carbomer water dispersion system itself exhibits acidity, with a pH value typically between 2.5 and 3.5. This acidic property is attributed to the carboxyl groups carried on each acrylic acid unit. As the concentration of carbomer in the system increases, the number of carboxyl groups also increases, and the acidity becomes more pronounced.

At this point, if neutralizing agents such as sodium hydroxide or triethanolamine are added to adjust the pH of the system to the range of 5-9, the performance of carbomer will be thoroughly activated. The neutralization reaction converts carboxyl groups into negatively charged carboxylate ions. These groups with the same charge will generate strong electrostatic repulsion between them, which will drive the polymer chains to expand to the maximum extent. It is reported that under this condition, the volume of carbomer molecule can expand nearly a thousand times than that of dry powder, and its thickening efficiency is far higher than that of many conventional thickeners, thus forming various dosage forms from lotion to gel stably.

5, Application and Quality Selection of Alcoholic Compounds

It is worth mentioning that the thickening ability of Carbopol 980 is not limited to aqueous systems. When it is dispersed in alcohol solvents such as ethanol, its molecules can also have similar swelling and stretching behavior, forming alcohol gel. This feature widens its application boundary, making it also outstanding in products such as disposable disinfection gel, alcohol gel.

As a high-performance polymer, the uniformity of molecular weight distribution and structural consistency of Carbopol products are directly related to the stability and excellence of their final application effect. Therefore, when selecting raw materials, giving priority to suppliers such as Desheng who focus on quality control is an important part of ensuring excellent product performance and batch stability.

The Carbopol 980 sold by Hubei Xindesheng Material Technology Co., Ltd. is a very fluffy white powder substance that, after soaking in clean water for a certain period of time, becomes a viscous transparent substance with poor fluidity. Adding it to facial mask will not affect the efficacy and appearance of facial mask in any way, but also has certain benefits. If you have any relevant procurement needs, please click on our official website to learn more details or contact us!