Phosphorescent Powders (Glow in Dark)

What is the product you are working on? Why a vinyl base? if the phosper is locked up in the vinyl can light get to energise it? Can you surface treat it afterwards? The answers will help un-lock this one.

The products are made from wire rope. They will serve various roles including safety marking, various items at constuction sites, and several items that would have their use made easier if they were easier to see in dimly lit areas (such as working in drop ceilings or buildings being built/refurbished). These diameters will range from 1/16" to 1/4" and be in lengths of several thousand feet.

The vinyl base was chosen because we have a supplier with a perfectly clear vinyl resin which we have used in the past and have the equipment to run. So far, with the clear vinyl, the light does energize it and it does glow. I believe the limiting 10% concentration is why it doesn't last as long as I'd like.

At present, we do not have a way to surface treat or paint the wire rope afterwards. At least, we do not own any equipment to do such a thing.

Best phosphorescent compounds (inorganic) are made by Nichia

I know of at least 25 things that will glow under black light... just add some black light LED to glow through any of these, and presto change O.. you have magic..

Hi JakeF,

I work as a technical lead for a coating and laminating company. Before I worked there, I know they did some work with glow-in-the-dark coatings. Maybe you could topcoat the vinyl with the phosphorescent powder in some kind of binder if it isn't too cost-prohibitive. I'll check into our past work with this on Monday and can get you some more info.

Mike

Get a sample of a finished vinyl product in the market already that meets your spec and anaylze it. Inorganics can be analyzed by a lab. You might also reduce a sample to a fine dust and extract it with various sovents to find one that leaches it out. The solvent can then be evaporated to give you something more to assay??

I work for manufacturer of phosphorescent paints and fiberglass ( we make stair covers with a phosphorescent band): most of the time the secret is in the formulation. Go back to the base: selection of raw material...it might not be the best resin or the best powder you are using. Check compatibility of the other raw material you are using. Start invetigating the process to make sure everything is fully compatible and no contamination possible as this might affect the final result.

2nd your technical reps (resin supplier) should be able to give you a hand in formulation. If he cannnot (or doesn't want or doesn't know) I might be able to help in formulation. I will need more specific information regarding your process/formulation which cannot be share in this forum for obvious reasons!

If formulation cannot be change for any reasons there is a possibility to paint the parts you are producing.

If paint is choosen, in this case the secret is in the surface preparation. For more specifc recommendation I need to know more about your parts (size shape, extruding process etc...). Giving you general recommendation (that you probably know already) won' be useful right now. Send me an email with your coordonate if I can help you I will be please to do so

Also, make sure that none of your ingredients have any UV dyes built in as protection for the organics. You must use material that is UV resistant by nature and is transparent to the rays that will cause fluorescence in the additves you use to fluoresce

Imagine all downtown buildings painted with fluorescent paints, and many cities and highways capable to store Giga Watts of energy from daylight and dissipate all the glory at night. This would be a huge saving of energy to illuminate cities and highways.

These paints may be also useful for streets and airports; perhaps it is possible to fabricate phosphorescent concrete to pave all highways and airports, thus improving security to drive during night without the expense of electric light all along.

I see a "Giga Market" for your ideas.

I have contacts with a major construction company here, and this is a place to experiment, they are building resorts, swimming pools, office buildings, banks, and the like.

Please let me know if these paints are washable and suitable to exterior painting, let me know about durability, climate resistance, future availability etc. The paints should be mass-produced in major plants, and should be extremely resistant to weather conditions.

Jaime Soto Figueroa

Jaime2ee@entelchile.net

http://www.matharts.cl/

Photoluminescent pigments are not suitable for addition to the vinyl resin and then extruded. The resin manufacturer is correct that addition of more than 10% of PL pigment will break down the vinyl and cause it to lose flexibility and become stiff and crack.

There are other ways to achieve what you are trying to do that will allow the pigment to work to its full capacity and still retain the flexibility so that the vinyl continues to work in terms of flexibility.

The most successful method is to screen print the finished vinyl with a photoluminescent water based screen printing ink. This is quite new methodology and if you wish to contact me directly on jrobinson@lumitec.org , I will be most happy to assist.

What is used in the toys that come attached to children's comics? You see things like glow in the dark spiders webs & skeletons that are cheap enough to be given away. They are usually a soft moulded plastic that feels like vinyl.

phosphorescence in the dark has a half life. You get a tradeoff of intensity versus duration.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22phosphorescent+paint%22+%2Bcolor&btnG=Search

dig here for paints etc. Probably some sublinks on pigments etc

Try checking with a company called Flexcon They already manufacture a Glo-in-the-dark vynal. Why make what you can already buy??

Thank you all for the great suggestions and leads! I'll definately follow them all up and see where they take me. Thanks again to you all for contributing to the solution!