Key Specifications/ Special Features:
Zinc oxide occurs in nature as mineral zincite. It is the most important zinc compound and has numerous industrial applications. Zinc oxide is the pigment in white paints. It is used to make enamels, white printing inks, white glue, opaque glasses, rubber products and floor tiles. It is used in cosmetics, soaps, pharmaceuticals, dental cements, storage batteries, electrical equipment, and piezoelectric devices. Other applications are as a flame retardant, as a UV absorber in plastics, and a reagent in analytical chemistry. A major application of zinc oxide is in the preparation of most zinc salts. In medicine, the compound is used as an antiseptic, an astringent and a topical protectant.
Zinc oxide is added to paints as a pigment and mold inhibitor and is known as zinc white when it is used as an oil paint by artists. It is used for cosmetics (ointment to protect nose and lips from ultraviolet sunlight), as a seed treatment. Zinc oxide, ZnO, is a reactive white pigment prepared by vaporizing metallic zinc at a temperature of about 900°C in the presence of oxygen. As a pigment, ZnO is basic in nature and can react with certain types of acidic paint resins resulting in the formation of a brittle film on drying. Formation of such films leads to premature failure of paint. For this reason as well as because of its low RI,ZnO cannot compete for the hiding power of TiO2.