VACUUM VERBIAGE | Are today's fillers for various polymer films a necessary evil?

I have a tendency to view fillers as problematic; hence, the title of this column. Polymer films made without fillers often are very smooth, which makes them very hard to wind well. As the film is wound, the air between is squeezed out, and so there is a very high surface area contact. Unpolymerized monomer that migrates to the polymer film surface can act as an adhesive, which can add to the problem. This is known as blocking; at worst, it has been known to prevent some rolls from being unwound at all. This also means there is no slip between the surfaces as the roll is wound, and this can make it difficult to wind a round roll.

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