A customer set out to create glow-in-the-dark flannel blankets using rotary screen printing but encountered unexpected issues. They purchased natural glow powder from others, and mixed it with transparent ,colorless, pH 6-8 blender, then stirred. However, the mixture turned white, foamed, and flocculent (as shown in the image below).

Waterproof glow powder preventing hydrolysis

Since it was their first time working with glow powder, they had no idea about its properties and reached out to us for help.

After reviewing the photos, we supposed the problem is: hydrolysis of the glow powder. To confirm this, we let the customer exposing the mixture to sunlight and then quickly moving it to the darkness to see if it glowed. The customer gave the feedback that it didn’t glow at all, so it is confirmed to be hydrolysis.

Why hydrolysis? Natural glow powder is not water-resistant. When mixed with water-based blender, it occured chemical reaction that lead to hydrolysis, resulting in whitening,flocculent , or clumping, and ultimately a loss of its glowing effect. Upon further discussion, the customer confirmed their blender is water-based one. So we recommended switching to waterproof glow powder

This case highlights the importance of choosing the right glow powder. When working with water-based mediums (such as paints, inks, or resins), waterproof glow powder is essential to ensure a consistent and long-lasting glowing effect.