An antistatic agent is a compound used for treatment of materials or their surfaces in order to reduce or eliminate buildup of static electricity

Static electricity

Static electricity refers to the build-up of electric charge on the surface of objects. The static charges remain on an object until they either bleed off to ground or are quickly neutralized by a discharge. Static electricity can be contrasted with current electricity, which can be delivered...

 generally caused by the triboelectric effect

Triboelectric effect

The triboelectric effect is a type of contact electrification in which certain materials become electrically charged after they come into contact with another different material and are then separated...

. Its role is to make the surface or the material itself slightly conductive, either by being conductive itself, or by absorbing moisture

Moisture

Humidity is the amount of moisture the air can hold before it rains. Moisture refers to the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts...

 from the air, so some humectant

Humectant

A humectant is a hygroscopic substance. It is often a molecule with several hydrophilic groups, most often hydroxyl groups, but amines and carboxyl groups, sometimes esterified, can be encountered as well; the affinity to form hydrogen bonds with molecules of water is crucial here.Since...

s can be used. The molecules of an antistatic agent often have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas, similar to those of a surfactant

Surfactant

Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension of a liquid, the interfacial tension between two liquids, or that between a liquid and a solid...

; the hydrophobic side interacts with the surface of the material, while the hydrophilic side interacts with the air moisture and binds the water molecules.

Internal antistatic agents are designed to be mixed directly into the material, external antistatic agents are applied to the surface.

Common antistatic agents are based on long-chain aliphatic amine

Amine

Amines are organic compounds and functional groups that contain a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair. Amines are derivatives of ammonia, wherein one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by a substituent such as an alkyl or aryl group. Important amines include amino acids, biogenic amines,...

s (optionally ethoxylated

Ethoxylation

Ethoxylation is an industrial process in which ethylene oxide is added to alcohols and phenols to give surfactants. The invention of the process is attributed to Schöller and Wittwer at I.G. Farben industrie.-Production:...

) and amide

Amide

In chemistry, an amide is an organic compound that contains the functional group consisting of a carbonyl group linked to a nitrogen atom . The term refers both to a class of compounds and a functional group within those compounds. The term amide also refers to deprotonated form of ammonia or an...

s, quaternary ammonium salts (e.g., behentrimonium chloride

Behentrimonium chloride

A common compound found in ants. Found in many deodorants.-External links:*...

 or cocamidopropyl betaine

Cocamidopropyl betaine

Cocamidopropyl betaine is a synthetic surfactant derived from coconut oil and dimethylaminopropylamine. It is a zwitterionic chemical compound with a quaternary ammonium cation...

), ester

Ester

Esters are chemical compounds derived by reacting an oxoacid with a hydroxyl compound such as an alcohol or phenol. Esters are usually derived from an inorganic acid or organic acid in which at least one -OH group is replaced by an -O-alkyl group, and most commonly from carboxylic acids and...

s of phosphoric acid

Phosphoric acid

Phosphoric acid, also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric acid, is a mineral acid having the chemical formula H3PO4. Orthophosphoric acid molecules can combine with themselves to form a variety of compounds which are also referred to as phosphoric acids, but in a more general way...

, polyethylene glycol

Polyethylene glycol

Polyethylene glycol is a polyether compound with many applications from industrial manufacturing to medicine. It has also been known as polyethylene oxide or polyoxyethylene , depending on its molecular weight, and under the tradename Carbowax.-Available forms:PEG, PEO, or POE refers to an...

 esters, or polyol

Polyol

A polyol is an alcohol containing multiple hydroxyl groups. In two technological disciplines the term "polyol" has a special meaning: food science and polymer chemistry.- Polyols in food science :...

s.