Cross-linking agents have a wide range of applications and my country’s research has made new progress

Cross-linking agent, also known as bridging agent and curing agent, is an important component of polyhydrocarbon photoresist. It refers to a substance that can convert linear or lightly branched polymers into a three-dimensional network structure. Cross-linking agents can improve the heat resistance, mechanical strength, elasticity, flame retardancy, and adhesion of polymer materials. They are widely used in textiles, plastics, medicine, papermaking, rubber, food processing and other fields.

Cross-linking agents can usually be divided into two categories: internal cross-linking agents and external cross-linking agents. Internal cross-linking agents refer to cross-linking agents that can be added to polymer structural chains as monomers or components, mainly including divinylbenzene, methacrylic acid, hydroxyethyl acrylate, acrylic acid, N-methylol acrylamide and other olefins. Monomer-like; external linking agent refers to the cross-linking agent added before use, which can be subdivided into benzenesulfonic acid, organic matter, inorganic matter, polyamines, polyols, acrylates, aziridines, etc. .

Cross-linking agents are used in a wide range of applications, including textiles, plastics, medicine, papermaking, rubber, food processing, etc. In the field of textiles, cross-linking agents can improve the wear resistance, strength and washability of cellulose fibers; in the field of plastics, cross-linking agents can be used in chlorinated polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, polyethylene and EVA, etc. Cross-linking and modification of thermoplastics; in the medical field, cross-linking agents can be used to manufacture medical biomaterials such as artificial blood vessels and artificial heart valves. As downstream demand grows, the cross-linking agent market continues to expand. According to the “2023-2028 China Cross-linking Agent Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, The global cross-linking agent market size will reach 68.42 billion yuan in 2022.

Jianghan New Materials, Changqing Technology, Chenguang New Materials, New Blue Sky, Haofan Biotech, Mingguan New Materials, Jinniu Chemical, Jiangtian Chemical, etc. are the main manufacturers of cross-linking agents in my country. Jianghan New Materials focuses on the R&D, production and sales of silane cross-linking agents and silane coupling agents, occupying a large share of my country’s cross-linking agent market. According to the financial report of Jianghan New Materials Company, the company achieved revenue of 2.66 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2022, a year-on-year increase of 68.1%.

In recent years, Chinese enterprises and scientific research institutions have continued to increase their investment in the research and development of cross-linking agents, leading to the continuous expansion of their application scope. In March 2022, the research team of Dong Mengqiu of Tsinghua University and the research teams of Lei Xiaoguang and Tang Chun of Peking University jointly developed a new chemical cross-linking agent DOPA. This product can be used in chemical cross-linking mass spectrometry (CXMS) and will be used in proteins or in the future. It has been applied in scientific research on protein-protein complexes.

Industry analysts said that cross-linking agents are widely used in many fields. With the increasingly strong downstream demand, the cross-linking agent industry is developing rapidly. Keep accelerating. There are many players in my country’s cross-linking agent market, with leading companies occupying a dominant position in the market. It is expected that in the future, with the continued efforts of local enterprises and scientific research institutions, the application scope of cross-linking agents in my country will be further expanded.