Molded article with metallic appearance

1 . A molded article having at least one part that comprises at least one layer comprising:

a) from 50% to 99.98% of a thermoplastic material by weight of said layer;

b) from 0.01% to 40% of metallic flakes by weight of said layer; and

c) from 0.01% to 40% of solid particles by weight of said layer,

wherein said solid particles are characterized by a Specular Reflection Ratio of from 0.4 to 0.8 and a Light Transmittance of from 40% to 95%, and wherein the weight ratio of said solid particles to said metallic flakes ranges from 2 to 50.

2 . The molded article of claim 1 , wherein the weight ratio of said solid particles to said metallic flakes ranges from 2 to 15.

3 . The molded article of claim 1 , wherein said solid particles are characterized by a Specular Reflection Ratio of from 0.5 to 0.7 and a Light Transmittance of from 50% to 90%; wherein said solid particles comprise a material selected from the group consisting of mica, glass fiber, SiO2, Al2O3, and the combinations thereof.

4 . The molded article according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one layer comprises from 0.1% to 25% by weight of mica flakes; and wherein said mica flakes are characterized by:

an average maximum diameter of from 1 μm to 100 μum, and/or

an average thickness of from 0.01 μm to 20 μm, and/or

an aspect ratio of from 2 to 1,000.

5 . The molded article according to claim 1 , wherein said metallic flakes comprise a metal; wherein said metal is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, copper, zinc, silver, gold, palladium, chrome, and any alloys or oxides thereof.

6 . The molded article according to claim 5 , wherein said metallic flakes further comprise an organic coating; wherein said organic coating is selected from silicone, polyethylene (PE) wax, polypropylene (PP) wax, styrene-maleic anhydride copolymer, terpene resin, stearates, mineral oil, siloxanes and any combinations thereof.

7 . The molded article according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one layer comprises from 0.02% to 15% by weight of metallic flakes; and wherein preferably-said metallic flakes are characterized by:

an average maximum diameter of from 1 μm to 100 μm, and/or

an average thickness of from 0.01 μm to 10 μm, and/or

an aspect ratio of from 2 to 1,000.

8 . The molded article according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one layer comprises from 70% to 99.9%-by weight of said thermoplastic material; and wherein said thermoplastic material is selected from the group consisting of polypropylene (PP), chlorinated polypropylene (CPP), polyethylene (PE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), medium density polyethylene (MDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), chlorinated polyethylene (CPE), ethylene-propylene copolymer, polymethylpentene (PMP), cyclic olefin copolymer (COC), polyvinylchloride (PVC), chlorinated polyvinylchloride (CPVC), polyvinyl dichloride (PVDC), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile styrene (AS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), styrene butadiene copolymer (SBC), polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), glycol modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG), polycyclohexylenedimethylene terephthalate (PCT), glycol-modified PCT copolymer (PCTG), copolyester of cyclohexanedimethanol and terephthalic acid (PCTA), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), polypropylene carbonate (PPC), poly-L-glutamic acid (PGA), cellulosic plastics, polylactide (PLA), polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT), polybutylene succinate (PBS), polybutylene succinate adipate (PBSA), polycaprolactone (PCL), thermoplastic starch (TPS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), chitosan, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) and copolymers thereof, ethylene methacrylic acid copolymer comprising metal ions selected from the group consisting of zinc (Zn), sodium (Na), lithium (Li) and combinations thereof, thermoplastic elastomers (TPE), styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS), styrene-isoprene-styrene copolymer (SIS), styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS), styrene-ethylene-propylene-styrene copolymer (SEPS), thermoplastic olefin (TPO), thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV), thermoplastic polybutadiene (TPB), thermoplastic polyisoprene (TPI), thermoplastic polyvinylchloride (TPVC), thermoplastic chlorinated polyethene (TCPE), thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU), thermoplastic polyester elastomer (TPEE), thermoplastic polyamide elastomer (TPAE), thermoplastic Fluoride (TPF), thermoplastic silicone vulcanizate (TPSiV), and any combinations thereof.

9 . The molded article according to claim 1 , wherein said molded article has a pink color and comprises an exterior layer comprising:

a) HDPE;

b) colorants;

c) from 0.01% to 0.03% of aluminum flakes by weight of said exterior layer, wherein said aluminum flakes have an average maximum diameter of from 10 μm to 35 μm; and

d) from 0.5% to 2% of mica flakes by weight of said exterior layer, wherein said mica flakes comprises KAl2[AlSi3O10][OH]2 with a coating of TiO2.

10 . The molded article according to claim 1 , wherein said molded article has an orange color and comprises an exterior layer comprising:

a) HDPE;

b) colorants;

c) from 0.01% to 0.03% of aluminum flakes by weight of said exterior layer, wherein said aluminum flakes have an average maximum diameter of from 10 μm to 35 μm; and

d) from 0.5% to 2% of mica flakes by weight of said exterior layer.

11 . The molded article according to claim 1 , wherein said molded article has a blue color and comprises an exterior layer comprising:

a) HDPE;

b) colorants;

c) from 0.3% to 0.5% of aluminum flakes by weight of said layer, wherein said aluminum flakes have an average maximum diameter of from 10 μm to 35 μm; and

d) from 0.1% to 0.3% of mica flakes by weight of said layer, wherein said mica flakes comprises KAl2[AlSi3O10][OH]2 with a coating of TiO2.

12 . The molded article according to claim 1 , wherein said molded article has a silver color and consists of a single layer comprising:

a) HDPE;

b) from 0.2% to 0.4% of aluminum flakes by weight of said layer, wherein said aluminum flakes have an average maximum diameter of from 10 μm to 35 μm; and

c) from 0.5% to 0.7% of mica flakes by weight of said layer, wherein said mica flakes comprises KAl2[AlSi3O10][OH]2 with a coating of TiO2.

13 . The molded article according to claim 1 , wherein said molded article is selected from the group consisting of an extrusion blow molded article, an injection molded article, an injection blow molded article, and an injection stretch blow molded article.

14 . A process for making a molded article, comprising the steps of:

a) mixing a molten thermoplastic material, metallic flakes, and solid particles to form a blend, wherein the blend comprises from 50% to 99.98% by weight of said molten thermoplastic material, from 0.01% to 40% by weight of said metallic flakes, and from 0.01% to 40% by weight of said solid particles; wherein said solid particles are characterized by a Specular Reflection Ratio of from 0.4 to 0.8 and a Light Transmittance of from 40% to 90%; and wherein the weight ratio of said solid particles to said metallic flakes ranges from 2 to 50;

b) extruding or injecting said blend, either alone or together with one or more other blends, to form a parison or a preform; and

c) blowing said parison or preform inside a mold to form a molded article,

wherein said molded article has at least one part that comprises at least one layer that is formed by said blend.

15 . The molded article of claim 1 , wherein said solid particles are solid flakes comprising mica flakes; wherein said mica flakes comprise a material selected from the group consisting of KAl2[AlSi3O10][OH]2, KMg3[AlSi3O10][F,OH]2, and a combination thereof; and wherein said mica flakes further comprise a coating selected from TiO2, Fe2O3, ZrO2, Al2O3, Cr2O3, and combinations thereof.