Polyethersulfone

Polyethersulfone is a thermoplastic polymer material with excellent comprehensive performance developed by the British ICI company in 1972. It is one of the few special engineering plastics that have been applied. It has excellent heat resistance, physical and mechanical properties, insulation properties, etc., especially it can be used continuously at high temperatures and can maintain stable performance in environments with rapid temperature changes. It has been widely used in many fields.

Overview

Polyethersulfone (PES) has an excellent ability to withstand prolonged exposure to high temperatures in air and water.

Although PES is a high-temperature engineering thermoplastic, it can be processed on conventional plastic processing equipment.

High mold temperatures generally aid mold filling and reduce molded-in stresses.

Because PES is amorphous, it has low mold shrinkage and is suitable for applications that require tight tolerances and less dimensional variation over a wide temperature range.

Properties and Uses

Polyethersulfone resin (PES) is a thermoplastic polymer material with excellent comprehensive properties developed by the British ICI Company in 1972. It is one of the few special engineering plastics that have been applied. It has excellent heat resistance, physical and mechanical properties, insulation properties, etc., especially the outstanding advantages of being able to be used continuously at high temperatures and maintaining stable performance in environments with rapid temperature changes. It has been widely used in many fields.

Heat resistance
The thermal deformation temperature is 200-220℃, the continuous use temperature is 180-200℃, and the UL temperature index is 180℃.

Hydrolysis resistance
It can withstand 150-160℃ hot water or steam, and is not corroded by acids and alkalis at high temperatures.

Temperature sensitivity
The basic modulus is almost unchanged from -100℃ to 200℃, especially above 100℃, which is better than any other thermoplastic resin.

Creep resistance
Its linear expansion coefficient is small, and its temperature dependence is also small. The characteristic is that 30% glass fiber reinforced PES resin can still maintain a value similar to aluminum until 200℃.

Impact resistance
It has the same impact resistance as polycarbonate. Unreinforced resin can be riveted, but it is more sensitive to sharp cuts, so pay attention to the design.

Non-toxic
In terms of health standards, it is recognized by the US FDA and meets the requirements of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Announcement No. 434 and No. 178.

Flame retardancy
It has self-extinguishing properties and has excellent flame retardancy without adding any flame retardants, which can reach UL94V-0 level (0.46mm)

Chemical resistance
PES is resistant to gasoline, engine oil, lubricating oil and other oils and cleaning agents such as Freon. Its resistance to solvent cracking is the best among amorphous resins. However, it can be dissolved in polar solvents such as chloroform and acetone, so care should be taken when using it.

Application fields

Electronic and electrical fields
PES is used as H-class insulating material in the fields of electronics and electrical appliances due to its solder resistance, good dimensional stability, resistance to various cleaning agents, inlayability of metal parts, and good adhesion to epoxy resin. The main products that have been developed include coil skeletons, housings and bases of potentiometers, hair dryer parts, printed circuit boards, push-button switches, insulators of thyristors, insulators of power tool motors, coil skeletons of printers, blowers, relays, etc., DIP switches, and various connectors. It can also be made into films of different thicknesses by extrusion molding for various electronic equipment and electrical products.

Mechanical fields
It has been widely used in places where general resins cannot meet the requirements of use due to its high-temperature creep resistance, dimensional stability, oil resistance, and good toughness. The main products that have been developed include levers, handles, brackets, etc. of various machines, observation glasses of X-ray devices, insulators of chain saws, agricultural machinery engines and carburetors, piston rings, heat-resistant balls, gears, copier parts, camera parts, projector parts, industrial blower covers, car air conditioner parts, arc welding gun handles, various analytical instrument components, etc.

Automobile field
Mainly use its rigidity and dimensional stability in a wide temperature range of -100℃ to 190℃, high temperature creep resistance, resistance to gasoline, diesel, and various types of engine oil. The products that have been developed include various bearing retainers, bearings for brake shafts, noise eliminators for igniters, engine gears, coil skeletons for carburetors, reflectors for fog lights, thrust rings, etc.

Hot water field
Mainly use its excellent creep resistance, rigidity and dimensional stability in hot water or steam at 160℃. The main products developed include valves for hot water and steam, insulators for corrosion-resistant electrodes, components for temperature sensors, pump bodies and impellers for various liquid and powder pumps, radiator valves, and parts for ultrafiltration devices.

Medical device field
It is mainly used for its characteristics of being able to be sterilized by steam sterilization, dry steaming (180°C), V-ray sterilization, and being able to withstand repeated sterilization. The main products developed include contact lens sterilizers, dental drill handles, surgical containers, syringes, valves and pipes for the food industry.

Recycling of Polyethersulfone

Recycling methods:

A.Chemical recycling: Polyethersulfone is decomposed into monomers or oligomers by chemical methods, and then polymerized to generate new polyethersulfone materials. This method can effectively recycle polyethersulfone, but requires professional chemical processing technology and equipment.

B.Physical recycling: The waste polyethersulfone materials are separated, cleaned and reshaped by physical methods to make new products. Physical recycling is relatively simple, but it may affect the performance of the material.

‌C.Energy recovery: Use waste polyethersulfone as fuel to generate energy through combustion. This method is simple and easy, but it will cause certain pollution to the environment.