Antistatic Agents for Plastics: 4 Types, Mechanisms, Dosage and Selection

Antistatic agents for plastics are additives that lower the surface or volume resistivity of a polymer so that static charge drains away instead of building up, and they come in 4 types: non-ionic migrating, ionic, permanent and conductive. Untreated polyethylene and polypropylene sit at a surface resistivity of 10^15 to 10^16 ohm, while the antistatic band starts at 10^9 ohm, so how does an additive dosed at 0.1 to 1 wt% of the plastic product close six orders of magnitude? It builds a drain path on the surface or through the bulk.

The 4 types build that path in 3 ways. Non-ionic migrating antistats such as glycerol monostearate bloom to the surface and hold a water layer there, ionic antistats such as sodium secondary alkanesulfonate add ionic conduction to the same layer, permanent antistats build an ion-conductive polymer network through the part, and conductive fillers such as carbon black build an electron percolation network. Glycerol monostearate and ethoxylated amines hold more than 50 % of the antistatic market, so the surface water layer carries most of the tonnage sold.

Antistatic agents belong to the surface and optical modifier group of plastic additives, next to slip, antifog and anti-scratch additives. This page sets out the resistance classes, the 3 mechanisms, the 4 types with their named grades and levels in wt% and phr, the chemistry that matches each polymer from polyethylene to polycarbonate, a 6-step selection sequence, resistance and static-decay testing, the EU and US food-contact limits, the producers, and all 10 antistatic and conductive substances in the directory.

The table compares the 4 types of antistatic agents for plastics by mechanism, example chemistries, host polymers and typical level.

Levels are supplier recommendations or study values. Figures taken from 21 CFR 178.3130 and EU 10/2011 are legal maxima for food-contact use, not dosage recommendations.

What Are Antistatic Agents for Plastics?#

An antistatic agent for plastics is an additive that lowers the surface or volume resistivity of the polymer far enough for triboelectric charge to drain away, which is measured as surface resistance in ohm or as static decay time in seconds. The class carries both spellings, antistatic agent and anti-static agent, and formulators also call it an antistat, an internal antistat or a static dissipative additive. The measured property matters more than the name: ASTM D257 covers the DC surface and volume resistance of insulating materials, and surface resistance changes rapidly with conditioning humidity.

Which static-control products are then not plastic additives? Topical sprays and antistatic coatings are applied to the finished part and wash off, so they sit outside this reference. Conductive fillers count as antistatic agents here because their function is charge dissipation, while carbon black dosed for colour belongs to the colorants family.

Why do plastics build up static charge?#

Plastics charge because they are insulators: with a surface resistivity of 10^15 to 10^16 ohm, polyethylene and polypropylene hold the charge that contact and separation generate instead of conducting it away. Three conditions have to meet before a part carries a working voltage, and they are listed below.

• Contact and separation: triboelectric charging happens whenever a film unwinds, a part leaves a mould or pellets slide through a hopper.
• Low conductivity: a surface resistivity above 10^14 ohm gives the charge no path to ground, so the voltage stays where it was generated.
• Low humidity: dry air leaves no adsorbed water film, and the ESD Association measures 20,000 V on a polybag lifted from a bench at 10 to 25 % relative humidity against 1,200 V at 65 to 90 %.

The consequences run from cosmetic to destructive: charged surfaces attract dust, webs cling and jam on winders, operators receive shocks from a charged stack, and electronic devices in an untreated bag are damaged by discharges below 100 V.

Antistatic, dissipative and conductive: what the resistance classes mean#

ANSI/ESD S541 splits packaging materials into conductive below 1.0 × 10^4 ohm, dissipative from 1.0 × 10^4 to under 1.0 × 10^11 ohm and insulative at or above 1.0 × 10^11 ohm, while the plastics additive industry calls 10^9 to 10^13 ohm antistatic. The table sets the two class systems side by side with the value for untreated polyolefins and the volume-resistance classes used for carbon-black compounds.

The two systems overlap, and merging them produces specifications no supplier can meet. A compound sold as "antistatic" by an additive supplier can still be insulative under ANSI/ESD S541, so always specify the standard with the target value. The measurement also has to be named: ANSI/ESD STM11.11 measures surface resistance, STM11.12 volume resistance, and carbon-black compounds are classified by specific resistance in ohm·cm.

Is an antistatic agent the same as an ESD additive?#

Partly: every ESD additive is an antistatic agent, but only additives that meet a class limit and a decay time count as ESD, because ESD packaging specifications such as NFPA 99 and MIL-PRF-81705D name both a resistance limit and a static-decay time. NFPA 99 asks for a static decay under 0.5 s from 5 kV to the 10 % cutoff at 50 % relative humidity, or a surface resistance below 10^11 ohm, and the class limits used for bags, trays and totes are listed on antistatic and ESD packaging. MIL-PRF-81705D is stricter: static decay under 2.0 s to the 0 % cutoff at 12 % relative humidity and a surface resistance below 10^12 ohm.

How Do Antistatic Agents Work?#

Antistatic agents work in 3 ways: migrating types build a conductive water layer on the surface, permanent types form an ion-conductive polymer network through the part, and conductive fillers build an electron-conducting network of touching particles. The first two move ions and the third moves electrons, and that difference decides humidity dependence, durability and colour.

The surface water layer: how migrating antistats drain charge#

Migrating antistats work because the molecule is amphiphilic: the fatty tail stays anchored in the polymer while the hydroxyl or amine head group at the surface binds water from the air, and that thin water layer carries the charge away. The adsorbed water between the head groups conducts ionically, which makes the effect a surface property. Building that layer takes about 2 days of conditioning to a monolayer in LDPE and LLDPE, so a film tested straight off the winder reads far higher than it will later.

The reservoir inside the part then decides how long the layer survives. Glycerol monostearate protects for about 1 to 2 months because its surface layer crystallises and stops holding water, while ethoxylated amines keep replenishing for months. Crystalline polymers such as HDPE and PP homopolymer slow the migration, and polar resins including EVA, EMA, ionomers, polyamide and PET retain the antistat in the bulk, so both need a higher level. The solubility and diffusion rules behind this are set out under blooming and exudation.

Ion-conductive networks: how permanent antistats work#

Permanent antistats are hydrophilic block copolymers that form a co-continuous ion-conductive network inside the host polymer, so the effect is built into the part instead of into a surface layer. No molecule migrates, no water layer is needed, and the compound stays clear. An inherently dissipative polymer shows a surface resistivity at 12 % relative humidity similar to its value at 50 %, which is where a migrating antistat fails.

The network has to percolate through the part, which sets the loading and the geometry. Loadings of 10 to 20 wt% in polypropylene are usual, and in multilayer film the polymer is often confined to the skin layers. A polyamide-6-polyethylene-glycol elastomer carrying quaternary ammonium groups, at 20 wt% in polypropylene, measured 3.64 × 10^11 ohm on day 0 and 4.69 × 10^10 ohm on day 60 in a 2026 study published in Polymers, so the network keeps improving as the phase morphology settles.

Percolation: how conductive fillers carry charge#

Conductive fillers work by percolation: once the loading is high enough for the particles to touch or to sit within tunnelling distance, the compound conducts electrons through a continuous network instead of relying on surface water. Structure beats mass here, so a high-surface-area black such as Ketjenblack EC-300J needs a fraction of the loading of a conventional conductive black, and carbon nanotubes percolate in polypropylene from 0.06 to 0.08 wt% up to 0.5 to 1.4 wt%. Bauhofer and Kovacs identified dispersion as the key variable (Composites Science and Technology, 2009), which is why one grade gives different thresholds on different lines.

The 4 conductive fillers used in antistatic and ESD compounds are listed below.

• Conductive carbon black, in high-structure grades such as Ketjenblack EC-300J and EC-600JD.
• Multi-walled carbon nanotubes, as NC7000 powder or PLASTICYL masterbatches.
• Graphene, as nanoplatelets, graphene oxide or reduced graphene oxide.
• Graphite, natural flake, synthetic and expanded.

Why does humidity change antistatic performance?#

Humidity changes antistatic performance because migrating antistats need atmospheric water: the same polybag charges to 20,000 V at 10 to 25 % relative humidity and to only 1,200 V at 65 to 90 %. The additive has not changed between the two measurements, only the water available to the head groups. ASTM D257 records the same asymmetry in the laboratory, where surface resistance changes rapidly with humidity while volume resistance changes slowly, so a surface-resistance figure without its conditioning humidity carries no information. Permanent antistats remove the dependence, because an ion-conductive network inside the part needs no adsorbed water and reads nearly the same at 12 % and 50 % relative humidity. ESD qualification therefore conditions at 12 % relative humidity, the condition under which a migrating antistat performs worst.

4 Types of Antistatic Agents for Plastics#

The 4 types of antistatic agents for plastics are non-ionic migrating antistats, ionic antistats, permanent antistats (inherently dissipative polymers) and conductive fillers. The order runs from the cheapest and most widely used chemistry to the most expensive and most permanent one, which is also the order in which a formulator escalates when a specification tightens.

1. Non-ionic migrating antistats: GMS, ethoxylated amines and diethanolamides#

Non-ionic migrating antistats are amphiphilic surfactants, mainly glycerol monostearate, ethoxylated fatty amines and lauric diethanolamide, that bloom to the surface of polyethylene and polypropylene and hold a conductive water layer there; GMS and ethoxylated amines together hold more than half of the antistatic market. All three carry a C12 to C18 fatty tail and differ in how strongly the head group binds water and how fast the molecule travels.

Glycerol monostearate (CAS 31566-31-1, also 123-94-4) is sold as Atmer 129, Armostat 801, Einar 211, STRUKTOL TR 151-40 and TR 151-95, Baerolub L-MS and LIGALUB 11 GE. Struktol recommends 0.15 % in LDPE, 0.3 % in HDPE, 0.05 to 0.5 % in polypropylene, 0.5 to 1.5 phr in rigid PVC and 0.5 to 1.0 phr in flexible PVC. Ethoxylated amines, chemically N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)alkylamines and sold as Atmer 163 and Armostat 300, 400 and 600, carry the long-term effect and outperform both GMS and the diethanolamides in HDPE. Lauric diethanolamide (CAS 120-40-1) is typically the best antistat in LDPE and LLDPE and is less basic than the amines. Grade tables for each chemistry are on migrating antistatic agents.

The limits of the class are chemical rather than regulatory. Glycerol monostearate fades after about 1 to 2 months as its surface layer crystallises, and the ethoxylated amines are basic enough to react with acidic additives and halogenated flame retardants and to attack polycarbonate. Food contact sets the packaging ceiling: 21 CFR 178.3130 allows up to 0.1 wt% of a C12-C18 ethoxylated amine in polyolefin film and up to 0.5 % of lauric diethanolamide in polyethylene containers.

2. Ionic antistats: alkyl sulfonates and quaternary ammonium salts#

Ionic antistats are anionic alkanesulfonates and cationic quaternary ammonium salts whose ionic head groups conduct charge through the surface moisture layer of polar plastics such as PVC, polystyrene and HIPS. The mechanism is the same water layer the non-ionic types build, but the conduction is stronger because the head group is already a dissociated ion.

Sodium secondary alkanesulfonate (CAS 68037-49-0 for the C10-18 cut, also 97489-15-1 for the C14-17 secondary cut) is the reference grade, sold by Clariant as HOSTAPUR SAS 93. It is an internal antistat for polystyrene, HIPS and PVC, and it is not recommended for polyethylene because of its low heat stability. 21 CFR 178.3130 allows up to 0.1 % in polyolefin film and up to 3.0 % in polystyrene and rubber-modified polystyrene, and the EU lists alkyl C8-C22 sulphonic acids as FCM 16 with an SML of 6 mg/kg. Cationic quaternary ammonium salts and amphoteric betaines complete the ionic class, and the anionic and cationic grades are compared on ionic antistatic agents for PVC and styrenics. No dosage figure for the quaternary ammonium half is established in this reference, so it is named without a use level.

3. Permanent antistats: inherently dissipative polymers#

Permanent antistats are hydrophilic block copolymers and ionomers, sold as Pelestat, Irgastat P, Pebax MH/MV, Entira, Stat-Rite and Ionphase, that build a lasting ion-conductive network in PP, PE, ABS and PS at 10 to 20 wt%. The chemistry is a polyether block joined to a polyolefin or polyamide block, or an ionomer, and the polyether phase carries the ions. Because the additive is itself a polymer, nothing blooms, nothing washes off and nothing has to be replenished.

Three properties decide where the class is used: the compound stays clear, so transparent trays stay possible; it is humidity-independent, with a surface resistivity at 12 % relative humidity similar to the value at 50 %; and it needs a percolating network rather than a surface layer, which is why these polymers are often confined to the skin layers of multilayer film. Loadings and grade equivalents are on permanent antistatic additives.

The price of permanence is the loading. At 10 to 20 wt% the antistat is a blend component rather than an additive, and it changes stiffness, sealing and impact behaviour along with resistivity. Under REACH these materials are polymers and exempt from registration, while their EU food-contact status is grade-specific and comes from the supplier declaration.

4. Conductive fillers: carbon black, carbon nanotubes and graphene#

Conductive fillers are carbon-based particles, mainly conductive carbon black, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, graphene and graphite, that make a compound conductive once their loading passes the percolation threshold. They are the only route to the conductive class below 1.0 × 10^4 ohm, and they reach it in any thermoplastic, thermoset or elastomer.

Conductive carbon black (CAS 1333-86-4) is the volume chemistry, and structure decides the loading: Ketjenblack EC-300J at about 800 m2/g BET needs about one third of the loading of conventional conductive blacks and EC-600JD at about 1,400 m2/g about one sixth. Compounds made with it are classified by specific resistance: below 10 ohm·cm is high conductivity, 10 to 100 ohm·cm is general conductivity and above 1,000 ohm·cm is antistatic. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CAS 308068-56-6) percolate far lower, from 0.06 to 0.08 wt% up to 0.5 to 1.4 wt% in polypropylene, are supplied as NC7000 powder or as PLASTICYL masterbatches at 10 to 20 wt% CNT in PBT, ABS, HDPE, LDPE, EVA, PA, PC, PEEK and HIPS carriers, and deliver more than 40 dB of EMI attenuation at 10 % CNT. Graphene (CAS 1034343-98-0) and graphite (CAS 7782-42-5) complete the set, and percolation data per filler are on conductive additives and fillers.

Three drawbacks come with the class: the part turns black, performance depends on dispersion rather than loading alone, and the regulatory position is the tightest of the 4 types, because conductive carbon black is capped at 2.5 % w/w under FCM 411 while carbon nanotubes and graphene are not on the Union list at all.

Migrating, Permanent or Conductive: How Do the Types Compare?#

The 3 routes differ in durability and in what they cost the rest of the formulation: migrating antistats work within about 2 days and fade within 1 to 2 months for GMS, permanent antistats work from day one and stay, and conductive fillers reach the lowest resistance but turn the part black. The table sets the 3 routes against each other on the 8 properties that decide a formulation.

Cost and colour decide most cases before resistivity does. A migrating antistat at 0.1 to 1 wt% is the cheapest way into the antistatic band and leaves the part clear, a permanent antistat at 10 to 20 wt% keeps clarity and works in dry air at the cost of a blend component, and a conductive filler is the only route below 10^4 ohm at the price of a black part. No verified price data for antistatic additives is established in this reference, so the comparison stays qualitative.

How Much Antistatic Agent Does a Plastic Need?#

Migrating antistats are used at 0.1 to 1 wt% of the plastic product, while permanent antistats need 10 to 20 wt% in polypropylene and conductive fillers need whatever loading passes their percolation threshold. The 0.1 to 1 wt% range comes from the product survey of John Hahladakis and colleagues at the University of Leeds (Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2018), as tabulated by Chea and colleagues in 2025, and it describes the migrating types only. The table gives the level per substance and polymer with its basis, because a supplier recommendation and a legal maximum are not interchangeable.

No verified absolute carbon-black loading for a given ESD resistance target is established in this reference; the conductive page carries the trial data.

Almost no processor weighs these levels as neat powder. Antistats reach the processor almost always as additive masterbatch, a concentrate in a matched carrier resin let down at the extruder, which also solves the dispersion problem a waxy monoester creates in a dry blend.

The legal maxima in the table are ceilings, not recommendations. A formulator dosing lauric diethanolamide at the 0.5 % that 21 CFR 178.3130 allows in polyethylene containers would still have to prove compliance by migration testing under the EU rules. Levels for every family are on additive dosage levels in plastics.

Which Antistatic Agent for Which Polymer?#

The antistat follows the polymer: diethanolamides work best in LDPE and LLDPE, ethoxylated amines in HDPE, ionic antistats in PVC and polystyrene, and permanent antistats wherever migration is not acceptable. Polarity and crystallinity set the rule. A crystalline matrix slows the migration that a surface layer depends on, and a polar matrix holds the antistat in the bulk instead of releasing it, so both push the level up or push the choice toward a permanent type.

Antistatic agents for polyethylene and polypropylene film#

Polyethylene and polypropylene film take migrating antistats: lauric diethanolamide performs best in LDPE and LLDPE, ethoxylated amines perform best in HDPE, and glycerol monostearate is added for the first weeks of protection. The split is a question of timescale, because the diethanolamide and the amine keep the surface supplied for months while the monoester reaches it fastest.

In additives for polyethylene the antistat never travels alone. A blown LDPE bagging film also carries slip, antiblock, antifog and a processing aid, and each competes for the same surface. Conditioning is the practical constraint: about 2 days to a surface monolayer in LDPE and LLDPE means a roll tested on the day of extrusion reads far above its settled value.

Polypropylene behaves differently because it is more crystalline. Struktol recommends 0.05 to 0.5 % glycerol monostearate in polypropylene, and homopolymer grades slow migration enough to push a formulator toward the upper end or an ethoxylated amine. Recyclability does not argue against this: the Association of Plastic Recyclers rates antistatic agents among the "Design Preferred" workhorse additives in its PP rigid design guide. For the complete PP package, see additives for polypropylene.

Antistatic agents for PVC, polystyrene and other polar plastics#

PVC and styrenics take ionic antistats: sodium secondary alkanesulfonate conducts through the surface moisture layer of polar resins, and 21 CFR 178.3130 allows up to 3.0 % of it in polystyrene and rubber-modified polystyrene. The same substance is limited to 0.1 % in polyolefin film, and the factor of 30 between the two figures shows how much more of an ionic antistat a polar matrix needs and tolerates.

PVC takes both routes. Struktol recommends glycerol monostearate at 0.5 to 1.5 phr in rigid PVC and 0.5 to 1.0 phr in flexible PVC, where GMS also acts as an internal lubricant, as set out in additives for PVC. Other polar resins behave the same way: EVA, EMA, ionomers, polyamide and PET retain migrating antistats in the bulk, so the level has to rise against the polyolefin figure or the formulation has to move to a permanent type.

Antistatic and ESD compounds for electronics#

Electronics packaging and ESD parts are specified by class, not by chemistry: trays, totes and clean-room parts use conductive carbon black or carbon nanotubes to reach the dissipative or conductive band, while film bags use migrating or permanent antistats. The customer names a resistance range from ANSI/ESD S541 and often a static-decay time, and the compounder picks the filler that reaches it in that resin.

Bag performance shows why the class matters more than the label. Of a 1,000 V pulse applied outside, a pink antistatic bag lets about 800 V through, a black conductive bag about 600 V and a metallised shielding bag about 20 V, so only the last protects a device damaged below 100 V. Shielding is a separate specification: 20 dB means 99 % attenuation and 40 dB means 99.99 %, inherently dissipative polymers alone are not sufficient for it, and filler loadings are on EMI shielding plastics.

Carbon nanotubes carry both jobs at low loading, and Moaref and colleagues measured 30.4 dB at 5 vol% CNT in a recycled EPDM/PP/CaCO3 composite in 2023, at a percolation threshold of 0.25 vol%. The package for enclosures and cable compounds is on additives for electrical and electronics.

What Stops an Antistatic Agent From Working?#

An antistatic agent fails for 4 reasons: the air is too dry, another additive takes the surface, an acidic or halogenated additive reacts with it, or a neighbouring layer drains the reservoir. All four are formulation and process faults rather than product faults, and all four show up as a surface-resistance reading above 10^13 ohm on a compound dosed to specification.

Synergy: glycerol monostearate plus ethoxylated amines#

Glycerol monostearate and ethoxylated amines are combined because they act on different timescales: GMS reaches the surface first and the amine keeps the surface supplied for months. The monoester is smaller and less strongly held in the polymer, so it populates the surface during the 2 days a film needs to condition, while the amine migrates more slowly and replaces what crystallises or is wiped away. The two chemistries together hold more than 50 % of the antistatic market.

The 2 synergistic pairs used in migrating antistatic packages are listed below.

• Glycerol monostearate plus an ethoxylated amine: immediate effect from the monoester, long-term effect from the amine, in HDPE and PP where the amine alone is slow to establish.
• Glycerol monostearate plus lauric diethanolamide: immediate effect from the monoester with the diethanolamide as the long-term carrier in LDPE and LLDPE, where diethanolamides perform best and the basicity of an amine is unwelcome.

Antagonists: antiblock, slip, acidic additives, corona and lamination#

Silica antiblock is the most common cause of a failed antistatic package: synthetic silica adsorbs both antistats and slip agents and holds them away from the surface. The particle surface competes with the film surface for the same molecules, so the antistat is present by analysis and absent by measurement. The 5 antagonists to check before blaming the antistat are listed below.

• Synthetic silica antiblock: adsorbs antistats and slip agents and retards their migration.
• Slip agents: erucamide and oleamide compete for the same surface sites, so the two families reduce each other's effect.
• Acidic and halogenated additives: they react with the basic amine and amide antistats, and amine antistats additionally attack polycarbonate.
• Corona treatment: it accelerates migration to the treated side and strips the reservoir the untreated side needs.
• Adhesive lamination and polar layers: an adhesive, a polyamide layer or a PET layer drains the antistat out of the sealant layer, while tight winding slows diffusion.

The matrix across all families is on additive interactions: synergy and antagonism. Slip and antiblock are not optional neighbours in film, which is why an antistatic package for a bagging film is designed as a package.

How Do You Select an Antistatic Agent? 6 Criteria#

Select an antistatic agent in 6 steps, starting with the resistance class and the test method the customer specifies, because that single number decides between a migrating antistat and a conductive compound. The order matters, because every later step narrows a list the first step has already cut in half.

1. Set the target class and the test. Name the standard (ANSI/ESD S541 dissipative from 1.0 × 10^4 to under 1.0 × 10^11 ohm, or the plastics-industry antistatic band of 10^9 to 10^13 ohm) and add the static-decay requirement if NFPA 99 or MIL-PRF-81705D applies.
2. Name the polymer with its polarity and crystallinity. LDPE and LLDPE point to diethanolamides, HDPE to ethoxylated amines, PVC and styrenics to ionic antistats, and PA and PET to higher levels or a permanent type.
3. Decide whether migration is acceptable. Clean-room, painted and laminated parts should rule out migrating antistats, whose surface layer contaminates the next step.
4. Check the humidity of the service environment. Dry service, or qualification at 12 % relative humidity, should push the choice toward a permanent antistat or a conductive filler.
5. Check the compliance route. Food-contact use needs an EU Union list entry with its SML and a 21 CFR 178.3130 listing, verified per grade.
6. Check the rest of the formulation. Silica antiblock, slip agents, acidic co-additives and halogenated flame retardants each remove part of the effect.

The framework behind these steps is on how to select plastic additives. Film formulations combine antistats with slip, antiblock and antifog, as shown in additives for packaging film.

How Is Antistatic Performance Tested?#

Antistatic performance is measured as surface resistance, volume resistance or static decay time, and the result only means something with the conditioning humidity stated next to it. The table lists the 5 measurements, their standards and the requirement each one carries.

Conditioning decides the number more than the additive does. ASTM D257 covers the DC volume and surface resistance of insulating materials and not moderately conductive materials, which go to ASTM D4496 instead, and within D257 surface resistance changes rapidly with humidity while volume resistance changes slowly. ESD qualification conditions the specimen at 12 % relative humidity, the hardest condition for a migrating antistat and a neutral one for an inherently dissipative polymer. One anisotropy matters in blown film: static decay is direction-dependent, with machine-direction values lower than transverse-direction values, while surface resistivity is not. All methods are indexed under testing plastic additives.

How Are Antistatic Agents Regulated?#

Antistatic agents are regulated mainly as food-contact additives: the EU authorises them by FCM number with a specific migration limit, and the US lists them in 21 CFR 178.3130 with a maximum use level per polymer and food type. That single section, headed "antistatic and/or antifogging agents in food-packaging materials", carries the whole migrating class in the United States. Outside food contact, the binding instruments are the CLP Regulation and California's Proposition 65, and no substance in this family is on the REACH Candidate List as of 22 September 2026.

Food contact: EU 10/2011 SMLs and 21 CFR 178.3130#

In the EU every migrating antistat needs an entry in the Union list of Regulation (EU) No 10/2011: ethoxylated amines carry a group SML of 1.2 mg/kg as tertiary amine, lauric diethanolamide 5 mg/kg and alkylsulfonic acids 6 mg/kg. Migration testing under EU 10/2011 applies to every food-contact grade, and the ethoxylated amines sit under group restriction 7, which also covers FCM 1081, partially esterified stearyl diethanolamine, at a maximum of 2 % w/w for dry foods assigned simulant E. Lauric diethanolamide carries a second condition: residual diethanolamine must not migrate above 0.3 mg/kg food.

The US route is structured differently, because 21 CFR 178.3130 sets a maximum use level in the polymer rather than a migration limit in the food, and it is explained on FDA food contact rules. Glycerol monostearate is a special case: it is FCM 53 in the EU with no specific SML, and in the US it is GRAS as a direct food substance under 21 CFR 184.1324, while the packaging antistat route per grade is not established here and no further clearance is claimed.

EU values were read from the Union list; the food-contact entries of this family were checked against the retained text of 31 December 2020 and must be re-checked against the current EUR-Lex consolidation before publication.

Every SML in the Union list is tabulated under specific migration limits, which also sets out how a group restriction such as group 7 applies when two substances of the group are used together.

Hazard classification: carbon nanotubes, carbon black and diethanolamine#

The hazard profile of the family sits with the conductive fillers and one impurity: multi-walled carbon nanotubes within the classified dimensions are Carc. 1B H350i and STOT RE 1 H372 under Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/2564, in application from 1 May 2026. The CLP entry is index 006-104-00-2, it covers tubes of 30 nm to under 3 µm diameter, at least 5 µm length and an aspect ratio above 3:1, and it is explained on CLP classification. The 3 hazard items a buyer checks are listed below.

• Multi-walled carbon nanotubes: Carc. 1B H350i and STOT RE 1 H372 (lung, inhalation) from 1 May 2026, which makes dry powder handling the controlling exposure route.
• Carbon black: on the California Proposition 65 list for cancer as airborne, unbound particles of respirable size since 21 February 2003; see California Proposition 65 for the warning rules.
• Diethanolamine: an impurity of lauric diethanolamide, listed under Proposition 65 for cancer since 22 June 2012, while lauric diethanolamide itself is not listed.

No substance in this family is on the REACH Candidate List as of 22 September 2026, or under Annex XIV or XVII.

Who Makes Antistatic Agents for Plastics?#

Antistatic agents come from 3 kinds of producer: oleochemical companies that make the migrating esters and amines, specialty polymer companies that make the permanent antistats, and carbon producers that make the conductive fillers. The table lists the producers and their antistatic brand lines by type supplied.

The Atmer 129 and Atmer 163 grades named on this page are listed without an owner, because the current brand owner is not established in this reference.

The class is smaller than the brand count suggests. ECHA's Plastic Additives Initiative mapping records 16 antistatic substances among its 418 rows from REACH registrations above 100 t/yr, so a handful of chemistries carries the volume. Grades, sites and certifications are compared in antistatic additive manufacturers and suppliers, and conductive grades come from the same producers as pigment blacks, listed under carbon black manufacturers.

Complete List of Antistatic Agents for Plastics: 10 Substances#

The complete list below gives the 10 antistatic and conductive substances in the directory with CAS number, type and EU food-contact status, in the order of the 4 types.

Rows 7 to 10 belong to the colorants and fillers families and are listed here for their antistatic and conductive function.

Every other additive family is in the plastic additives database, with the same CAS, function, dosage and regulatory columns.

How Do Antistatic Agents Differ From Slip, Antifog and Other Surface Additives?#

Antistatic agents share their working place with 6 other surface families: slip and antiblock set friction and blocking, antifog sets wetting, anti-scratch sets mar resistance, matting agents and light diffusers set optics, and cling agents set tack. All 7 act at or near the polymer surface, several use the same migrating chemistries, and that overlap is exactly why they interfere with one another. The table names the property each family sets and how it behaves next to an antistat.

Antistatic additives for dust-free plastic surfaces#

Dust attraction is an electrostatic problem, so anti-dust additives are antistatic agents: once the surface resistivity drops into the 10^9 to 10^13 ohm band, the part stops holding the charge that pulls dust onto it. An insulating surface at 10^15 to 10^16 ohm keeps a triboelectric charge for hours and airborne fibres follow the field to it, which is why untreated polystyrene housings and polypropylene trays look dirty within a day. The chemistries are the same as for charge control: glycerol monostearate and ethoxylated amines at 0.1 to 1 wt% at normal humidity, and an inherently dissipative polymer in clean rooms and dry storage. The service life follows the same rule, because a monoester that fades in 1 to 2 months leaves a part that attracts dust again.

Antistatic sprays and coatings: why topical antistats are not plastic additives#

A topical antistat is a surfactant solution wiped or sprayed onto a finished part, so it is a cleaning and maintenance product rather than a plastic additive, and it stops working as soon as the surface is washed. The active chemistry can resemble an internal antistat, but there is no reservoir in the polymer to replenish what wipes away, so the effect lasts one cleaning cycle rather than one product life. This reference covers additives compounded into plastics, so antistatic sprays, antistatic coatings and textile or cosmetic antistats are not compared, recommended or priced here. A part that has to stay dissipative through washing and years of service needs an internal antistat or a conductive compound.

A short history of antistatic additives in plastics#

Migrating antistats are the oldest branch of the family: glycerol monostearate has been used in the polymer industry for more than thirty years, mainly as an antistatic additive, according to Palsgaard. The class arrived with polyolefin film and grew with the packaging that film created.

Migration questions followed almost at once. Woggon and Uhde reported high specific migration of an alkyl sulphonate from impact polystyrene in 1977, an early flag for the anionic class that the EU Union list later answered with an SML of 6 mg/kg. Pink poly bags historically used reactive tallow amine, and modern bags use less reactive amines or amides because the tallow amine caused oxidation and stress cracking of the contents. Three handbook chapters set the class definitions used today: "Antistatic Additives" in the Hanser Plastics Additives Handbook, John Murphy's "Antistatic/Conductive Additives", and George Wypych's Handbook of Antistatics. The longer arc from camphor in celluloid onwards is on history of plastic additives.

Frequently asked questions about antistatic agents for plastics#

The 4 questions below are the ones formulators and buyers ask most often about antistatic agents for plastics: whether plastic can be made antistatic, how it is done, how long it lasts and how the chemistries are regulated.

Can plastic be anti-static?#

Yes: an internal antistatic additive moves a plastic from the insulative range of 10^15 to 10^16 ohm into the antistatic band of 10^9 to 10^13 ohm, and a conductive filler can take it below 10^4 ohm. The band the customer asks for decides the route, because ANSI/ESD S541 calls anything at or above 1.0 × 10^11 ohm insulative even when a supplier calls the same compound antistatic.

How do you make plastic antistatic?#

Plastic is made antistatic in 3 ways: compounding a migrating antistat such as glycerol monostearate or an ethoxylated amine, compounding a permanent antistatic polymer at 10 to 20 wt%, or compounding a conductive filler above its percolation threshold. Migrating types need about 2 days of conditioning, permanent types work immediately and survive dry air, and conductive fillers reach the lowest resistance and turn the part black.

Do antistatic agents wear off?#

Migrating antistats do: glycerol monostearate protects for about 1 to 2 months because its surface layer crystallises, while permanent antistats and conductive fillers do not migrate and do not wash off. Ethoxylated amines last longer because the bulk reservoir keeps resupplying the surface, but every migrating type ends when that reservoir is spent.

Are antistatic agents for plastics safe?#

The common migrating antistats are authorised for food contact with migration limits, and none of the substances in this family is on the REACH Candidate List as of 22 September 2026; the open hazard questions sit with the conductive fillers. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes within the classified dimensions carry a harmonised Carc. 1B H350i classification from 1 May 2026, and carbon black is a Proposition 65 listing as respirable airborne dust rather than as a finished compound. The chemicals of concern across all families are under toxic plastic additives.