WEST HAVEN, CT – Enthone has been granted a European patent for chromium-free etches for plastic substrates. 

The intellectual property covers chemical processes for the preparation treatment and etching of plastic surfaces, Enthone said.

Similar patent applications are pending in the United States and in other countries, the company said.

Various environmental regulations, such as the European REACH chemical regulatory No. 1907/2006, will have a significant impact on plating-on-plastics (POP) applicators, the company said in a press release, and are expected to result in further restrictions of plating chemistries. To ensure compliance with these pending regulations, Enthone has spent years developing technologies specially formulated for POP substrates without making use of chromium (VI) etches.