The earliest discovery of LCP/Liquid Crystal Polymer can be traced back to 1888. Austrian botanist F. Reinitzer discovered that heating the crystals of cholediol benzoate to 145°C will melt into a turbid liquid, and continue heating to 178.5°C. The turbid liquid will suddenly become a clear liquid, and this turbid to clear process is reversible. Systematic research and analysis point out that the mechanical properties of some substances are similar to isotropic liquids; but their optical properties are similar to crystals and are anisotropic. Therefore, these phases between liquid and crystal are called liquid crystal phases.
In 1937, when Bawden and Pirie were studying tobacco mosaic virus, they found that its suspension had liquid crystal properties. This was the first time that humans discovered the liquid crystal properties of biopolymers.
In 1950, Elliott and Ambrose synthesized polymer liquid crystal for the first time, and the research on LCP began.
United States: Celanese (now Ticona) and DuPont are the first companies in the world to develop LCP materials and put them into production. They have a strong strength in LCP raw material production and product manufacturing technology. Celanese began producing LCP resins with HBA/HNA as the main chain in 1985. After years of development, its LCP series products have covered Type I, Type II and Type III. At present, Ticona has developed its LCP business into Globally important LCP resin
A large production plant, and in 2010, it acquired DuPont's Zenite series of LCP production lines and became a leading LCP resin company with a production capacity of 22,000 tons per year.
Japan: In the early stage of the development of LCP technology, Japan listed LCP materials as key targets in its industrial technology. At present, Japan has developed many companies that can mass produce LCP materials, including Murata Manufacturing Co., Polyplastics, Sumitomo Chemical, etc. Among them, Murata closely follows the pace of the United States, has made in-depth accumulation in the field of LCP materials, has a complete industrial strength from LCP material manufacturing to product production, and has become Apple's exclusive supplier.
From the demand side, the global demand for LCP in 2002 was only 16,000 tons, and the global demand in 2012 grew to 40,000 tons. Since then, it has entered a period of rapid growth and reached 74,000 tons in 2019, an increase from 2018. 8%, of which the compound growth rate between 2012-2019 is close to 10%.
The early application of LCP materials was relatively single, and they were basically industrial applications. Later, with the development of science and technology, they gradually expanded, and the application fields covered such as single electrical appliances (high-density connectors, coil formers, spools, substrate carriers, capacitor shells); automotive industry ( Automobile combustion system components, combustion pumps, heat insulation components, precision components, electronic components, etc.); aerospace (radar antenna shields, high temperature and radiation resistant shells, etc.) and many other fields. Among them, electronic appliances are still the most advanced LCP materials. In the main application areas, its application accounted for as high as 73%, the traditional industrial and consumer areas gradually reduced to about 7%, and the automotive and medical fields accounted for 4% and 3% respectively.
From the perspective of the supply side, the global LCP resin production capacity in 2020 is about 76,000 tons/year, and its main supply comes from Japan and the United States. China is still accelerating the development and breakthrough process in related aspects. LCP has the characteristics of intensive industrial distribution. All of its production capacity is concentrated in China, Japan, and the United States, with capacities of 16,000 tons, 34,000 tons and 26,000 tons respectively, accounting for 21%, 45% and 34%. Companies in Japan and the United States have already carried out research and development of the LCP industry in the 1980s. China has relied on imports from Japan and the United States for many years. However, in recent years, companies such as SZWT, NBJJ, GZJF, and SHPL have started production, and China’s LCP industry has grown rapidly. From the perspective of specific production companies, the current production capacity of Celanese, Polyplastics and Sumitomo is more than 10,000 tons, and the production capacity of the first three companies is as high as 63%, and the industry concentration is high.
China's LCP industry development
LCP has long relied on imports. At present, many LCP technology companies in China have achieved production technology breakthroughs and verification stages. With the increase in the demand for LCP materials and the product substitution effect of Chinese LCP technology enterprises, a few companies in China have begun to pay attention to this field and continue to carry out technical reserves. SHPL is building an LCP resin polymerization plant in Shanghai Jinshan to establish TLCP materials from resin polymerization to composite Modified complete technology and production system, and began to supply customers in batches. GZJF has independently developed LCP materials since 2009, and its production capacity reached 1,000 tons in 2014. After the expansion in 2020, the production capacity will reach 6,000 tons per year. SZWT acquired all of Samsung Precision's LCP business in 2014, and its current production capacity is 3,000 tons per year.