August 23, 2024 – Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), a specialty engineering plastic with various outstanding properties, has been widely utilized in diverse fields due to its high mechanical strength, excellent heat resistance, superior flame retardancy, and strong chemical resistance.
With a softening point ranging from 277 to 282℃ and a glass transition temperature (Tg) between 85 and 93℃, PPS stands out as one of the most heat-resistant engineering plastics. Additionally, it boasts characteristics such as minimal molding shrinkage, excellent fire resistance, and good resistance to vibration fatigue. Furthermore, with a global production capacity exceeding 50,000 tons per year and a relatively affordable price compared to other specialty engineering plastics that can cost hundreds of yuan per kilogram, PPS offers high cost-effectiveness and is often used as a structural polymer material.
However, PPS has limitations, including poor impact resistance and brittleness. To enhance PPS’s properties and broaden its applications, researchers have conducted various modification studies, focusing on improving strength, impact performance, lubricity, and electrical properties. Currently, over 200 modified PPS composites are available worldwide, employing modification methods like glass fiber reinforcement, carbon fiber reinforcement, and inorganic filler blending.
The modified PPS not only maintains its original excellent properties but also enhances other performances such as antistatic properties and dimensional stability. This has led to PPS’s widespread application in high-tech fields like aerospace, nuclear industry, electronics and electrical industries, food and pharmaceutical industries. Simultaneously, PPS plays a significant role in the civilian industrial sector, including the manufacture of reaction tanks, pipelines, and other equipment in the chemical industry, as well as the production of wear-resistant parts and transmission components in the machinery industry.
According to the Color Masterbatch Industry Network, research on PPS modification continues to deepen, aiming to develop more materials with special properties to meet evolving market demands. Moreover, with technological advancements and expanding application areas, PPS’s future prospects appear even brighter.