just got a new mousepad and it stinks. curious as to why this happens.
In: Chemistry
A lot of polymers use some sort of oil as an emulsifying agent during manufacturing. It adds flexibility to the finished product, helps achieve an even mix during preparation, and can provide protection against oxidation damage.
The issue is that most of these filler oils are sort of a mess chemically, they’re composed of a large number of different carbon-chain compounds with all manner of molecular sizes and weights.
You can pay (a lot) extra to get a specific molecule but most cheap black plastic manufacturers don’t care about that. You get the discount industrial grade stuff that’s just a collection of light polymers gathered from an oil refinery.
Some of those molecules are light enough to evaporate over time, or break down into molecules that are. Even big molecules can slowly degrade into fragments small enough to evaporate.
Exactly what you’re smelling is hard to say. It’s a general class of materials called “volatile organic compounds” with a wide range of properties. There are EPA limits on VOC content, if your mousepad was manufactured in a country that cares about any of that.
Most foamlike plastics and rubbers are made by mixing the rubber/plastic precursor with what is called a “blowing agent,” these are added to chemically create “air” in the mixture to make the air pockets we have in foam. There are a variety that can be used but they tend to be some kind of hydrocarbon/gasoline-like things which gives it that smell as it leaks out of the foam, particularly more so than harder plastics.
Latest Answers