Succinic Anhydride: A Safe and Versatile Building Block for Epoxy Curing Agents and More
Succinic anhydride is a common organic chemical compound used to build all sorts of products across pharmaceuticals, coatings, material science research and development, and much more. Succinic acid, the compound that the anhydride originates from, is a naturally-occurring organic acid, found in all different types of biological systems and one of the US Department of Energy’s top chemicals created from biomass in 2004. Today the succinic anhydride is used as a common environmentally friendly and relatively non-hazardous component in coating and pharmaceutical production.
A Safe Building Block for Pharmaceuticals
In the Pharmaceutical and Vitamin Industries, succinic anhydride is an important building block. Succinic anhydride will react with amines and hydroxyls to improve pharmaceutical and vitamin water solubility and bioavailability. It also introduces a four-carbon dicarboxylic constituent that may offer performance advantages.
A High-Performance Component of Urethanes and Polyesters
In the production of urethane, polyester and acrylic coatings succinic anhydride reacts with polyols to increase carboxylic acid sites. These carboxylic acid sites can react with isocyanates or hydroxyls to form urethanes and polyesters.
Succinic anhydride also serves as a building block for acrylation to create UV cured polyesters and urethanes. These coatings will all have improved moisture resistance, less yellowing, uv light resistance, reduced oxidation and increase low temperature toughness.
A Crucial Ingredient for a Variety of Weather-Resistant Coatings and Epoxies
Succinic anhydride can also be used as a chain extender in the production of urethane and polyester resins with terminal acrylate groups. These resins readily undergo free radical polymerization under UV light to form UV- and weather-resistant outdoor coatings with improved toughness and adhesion.
Succinic anhydride also finds utility as an epoxy curing agent both as a powder dispersed in epoxy resin or as a component in extruded powder coatings. Its slow reactivity coupled with its toughness and weather resistance add greatly to the performance of epoxy coatings and adhesives.
Succinic Anhydride from Broadview Technologies
Broadview Technologies is an expert in the material science industry and a leading manufacturer of specialty anhydrides, including different variants of succinic anhydride. Our products offer several performance benefits, such as improved durability and extended pot life, and can be used in all of the typical applications of succinic anhydride compounds. Our high-purity SSA even meets all food and pharmaceutical requirements for safe use in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, flavors, and esters.
If you’re interested in these or any of our specialty anhydrides, you can check out all of our Data Sheets for a full list of our products, or contact us today with any questions you have.
