Polyvinyl Chloride
Tosoh is Japan’s largest supplier of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a product that conserves resources and minimizes environmental impact. Our vinyl chloride resin is a strong, easy-to-work-with material that neither rusts nor decays. As such, it is used globally in building materials, including in pipes, wallpaper, and window sashes, and in various household goods and medical products. Its widespread use contributes to significant reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The amount of CO2 released during the manufacture of plastic sashes is much lower than aluminum. Plastic sashes also provide savings in heating and cooling costs.
Plastic Window Sash
Environmental issues and rising energy costs increasingly require that people implement energy conservation measures in their homes. Amid this trend, the spotlight is on the plastic sash for the high-energy conservation benefits of its heat conduction properties. Plastic window sashes contribute to an environmentally friendly and comfortable home life. Plastic conducts 1/1000th of the heat transmitted by aluminum. Since windows are the main area of heat inflow and outflow in a house, installing plastic sashes yields great benefits. Insulation and heat-barrier performance improves, enabling families to enjoy cooler summers and warmer winters inside their homes and declining air-conditioning and heating costs. Additional benefits include soundproofing and dampening and the prevention of condensation on windows in winter. When renovating, moreover, house owners can keep their existing windows, simply installing an inner plastic sash and window set to suit the refurbishment.
Solar Cells
Solar cells capture and channel solar energy and are among Tosoh’s eco-products that show promise of significant growth. Solar cells can be roughly divided into two types: crystalline silicon based and thin film based. Tosoh Group products are utilized as raw materials in or during the production process for both types of solar cells.
Solar cell–grade diethylzinc Diethylzinc is used as a zinc precursor for deposition of a zinc oxide layers which are drawing the attention of the solar cell industry for their application in manufacturing transparent electrodes in thin film solar cells. The formation of a zinc oxide layer using diethylzinc takes place at temperatures below 200ºC. At this low temperature, damage to the layer is minimal. In addition, production costs are lowered because the texture can be structured at the same time as the layer.
EVA interlayer film for solar cells Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer is widely used as an interlayer film for solar cells. It has become the material of choice in the industry because of its durability, high transmission of the complete light spectrum, flexibility, moisture proofing, and superior adherence to silicon cells and to glass surfaces. Back-shielding films in solar cells contain Tosoh’s ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer, which remains elastic at low temperatures but resists flexing and environmental stress cracking.
Quartz glass
Quartz glass is used in the formation of the electrical power generation layer of thin film solar cells because of its resistance to chemicals, its durability, and its other special properties. It is also employed in the production of crystalline silicon solar cells. A low level of impurities makes quartz glass ideal for the crystalline silicon layer that acts as the substrate and the absorption layer for the solar cell.
ITO and AZO sputtering targets Indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) sputtering targets are used as materials for producing transparent electrodes in solar cells. Tosoh offers special grades with enhanced heat resistance, moisture proofing, and other properties that contribute to the more efficient use of sunlight, resulting in higher conversion efficiency. ITO targets are also employed in the manufacture of organic electroluminescent (EL) displays and panels.
Displays and Panels
Displays and panels are, thanks in part to Tosoh’s eco-products, undergoing a revolution that sees them consume little electricity and offer long service life and thereby contribute to energy and resource savings.
Tosoh quartz and sputtering targets
Tosoh’s quartz and sputtering targets find application in liquid crystal (LC) displays and panels in addition to solar cells. Quartz serves as the substrate for the photomask used when producing color filters and array substrates. And sputtering targets are employed in the formation of transparent electrodes for color filters and array substrates in LC displays and panels.
Organic EL materials
Organic EL displays and panels feature superior characteristics to other displays and panels. They are ultrathin, have no need of backlights, and consume little power. Tosoh’s EL hole transport material is produced using a method of low-temperature synthesis that minimizes waste.
Organic EL displays find widespread use in modern televisions, lighting, portable electronic devices, and more. Because they do not need backlighting, they consume fewer resources than liquid crystal panels. The electron transport materials developed by Tosoh are used in Organic EL displays.
Polyphenylene sulfide resin
Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin is notable for its strong adherence to metals. As a result, it is preferred for use in battery covers and the housings of such products as smart phones and mobile phones.
Silica for battery separators
Used in battery separators, silica (links to Tosoh Silica Corporation's website) improves the performance of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. It therefore finds preferred application in smart phones, mobile phones, and personal computers.
Automobiles
Automobiles have long benefited from Tosoh products that make transportation greener.
Electrolytic manganese dioxide Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are expected to become mainstream in electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and other eco-vehicles. The lithium manganese oxide (LMO) used for their cathodes demonstrates superb safety because of its stable chemical structure. EMD is one of the raw materials used in producing LMO.
Silica for battery separators Wet-type silica is employed in the separators of automobile batteries. Silica contributes to improved battery performance.
Silica for energy-saving tires Energy-saving tires have been in the spotlight even more since the January 2010 start to a new labeling system for the fuel consumption performance of tires in Japan. Adding silica to tires reduces the tires’ rolling resistance on pavement. This improves automobile fuel consumption as much as 6%.
Zeolites for cleaning the environment Zeolites contribute to cleaning the environment in a broad range of applications. In catalytic converters, they remove toxic substances, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, from automobile emissions. They also filter volatile organic compound (VOC) gases from work environments and gas emissions from semiconductor factories.
Yttria-stabilized zirconia Zirconia is utilized in sensors, fuel cells, and other components that assist in reducing exhaust emissions and improving fuel consumption. Tosoh yttria-stabilized zirconia (YTZ) is typically applied in solid oxide fuel cells and in automobile oxygen sensors, where it helps to limit vehicle exhaust gases and to increase fuel economy.
PPS resin for hybrid vehicles PPS resin has strong insulation and heat and chemical resistance properties. Consequently, it is used in the housings of the condenser in hybrid vehicles.