Toray Industries has developed a new type of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin, which is said to be the world's most flexible resin while maintaining excellent heat and chemical resistance. The company plans to promote the new resin in the automotive industry starting in April of this year and expand its application to various other industrial materials.
New PPS resin is mainly used in automotive pipelines
PPS resin is an advanced engineering plastic with good heat resistance and chemical resistance, and its sales are growing at a rate of about 7% per year. This material is mainly used in automotive applications. It needs to have heat resistance, light weight, and high strength to replace metals. Polyphenylene sulfide resin containing elastomers is used in areas that require elasticity, such as gaskets and automobiles. pipeline. However, while maintaining the heat resistance and chemical resistance of polyphenylene sulfide resins, there are also certain restrictions on elasticity. The development of highly elastic polyphenylene sulfide resins has always been a challenge.
Toray utilizes its proprietary nano-alloy technology to successfully develop a new PPS resin by optimizing the polymer structure design using its innovative materials. It has the highest level of elasticity in the world, with an elastic modulus of 1200 MPa or less. The mechanical strength of the new PPS resin does not deteriorate even after 1000 hours at 170 ° C, and it has high resistance to acids and vehicle refrigerants. The company has also been working to validate the processability of the resin with a focus on deployment in automotive pipeline applications.
The newly developed PPS resin is expected to make plastics used in automotive pipelines for the first time, reduce the number of parts used, and simplify the process.