Lesson plan
Plastisol
A plastisol is a colloidal dispersion of small polymer particles, usually polyvinyl chloride (PVC), in a liquid plasticizer. When heated to around , the plastic particles absorb the plasticizer, causing them to swell and fuse together forming a viscous gel. Once this is cooled to below it becomes a flexible, permanently plasticized solid product. This process is called 'curing'. Commercial plastisols have good compatibility with pigments and dyes allowing for brightly coloured finished products. Before being cured they flow as a liquid, and can easily be poured into a mould, used for dip-coatings or as a textile ink for screen-printing. Once cured it has a flexible, rubbery consistency. They are commonly used for coatings, particularly in outdoor applications (roofs, furniture) or grips for tools. Mattel Toys used plastisols for years in creating such things as Barbie and Chatty Cathy toys in the 1960s and 1970s. Plastisol can be up to 70% plasticizer by weight, although the exact ratio of ingredients may be adjusted to achieve the desired viscosity. Organosols are plastisols containing a large amount of volatile solvents to reduce viscosity making them suitable for coatable lacquers.
Article summary
A plastisol is a colloidal dispersion of small polymer particles, usually polyvinyl chloride (PVC), in a liquid plasticizer. When heated to around , the plastic particles absorb the plasticizer, causing them to swell and fuse together forming a viscous gel. Once this is cooled to below it becomes a flexible, permanently plasticized solid product. This process is called 'curing'. Commercial plastisols have good compatibility with pigments and dyes allowing for brightly coloured finished products. Before being cured they flow as a liquid, and can easily be poured into a mould, used for dip-coatings or as a textile ink for screen-printing. Once cured it has a flexible, rubbery consistency. They are commonly used for coatings, particularly in outdoor applications (roofs, furniture) or grips for tools. Mattel Toys used plastisols for years in creating such things as Barbie and Chatty Cathy toys in the 1960s and 1970s. Plastisol can be up to 70% plasticizer by weight, although the exact ratio of ingredients may be adjusted to achieve the desired viscosity. Organosols are plastisols containing a large amount of volatile solvents to reduce viscosity making them suitable for coatable lacquers.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.