Evolution of Conductive Coatings, 1990 Polymers, Laminations & Coatings Conference Proceedings

It was accidently discovered in the making of decorative metallized films that a very light deposition of metal produced a transparent, surface conductive film. Such a film was found to have many uses including two way mirrors, thermal insulators for windows, electrostatic discharge or ESD protection bags (especially when combined with antistatic film), and microwave susceptors. Conductive coatings are also comprised of polymeric binder loaded with conductive fillers. These types of coatings generally display more adaptability than the metallized coatings as the formulation components can be varied, coat weights can be changed and their printability allows an infinite number of patterns to be produced. The adaptability of conductive polymeric coatings lends itself especially to microwave susceptors. The geometries and levels of conductivity called for in microwave susceptors is only limited by the number of food types, shapes, sizes and combinations seen in the supermarket.