Thickening agent

Description

Any hydrophilic material that increases the viscosity of a liquid. Thickening agents are used in foods, paper, adhesives, textiles, paints, and detergents. The main types of thickeners are (based on Lewis 1993):

- Natural products: starch, gum, casein, gelatin, agar, etc.

- Synthetic cellulose derivatives: carboxymethyl cellulose, etc.

- Polymers: polyvinyl alcohol; polyacrylate

- Inorganics: clay, bentonite, silicates, fumed silica.

Synonyms and Related Terms

thickeners; rheology modifier

Authority

• G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p.294

• Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993

• Tom Learner, A review of Synthetic Binding Media in Twentieth-Century Paints., The Conservator, Vol. 24, 2000

• Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000 Comment: thickener = preferred term