Engineering Thermoplastics, Overview

This article provides a first key of access to engineering polymers. There is a compilation of materials classified as engineering thermoplastics, eg, cyclic olefin copolymers, syndiotactic polystyrene, acetal resins (polyoxymethylene), polyester resins [ie, poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(butylene terephthalate), and poly(ethylene naphthalate)], polyarylates, liquid crystal polymers, poly(phenylene ether), polycarbonate, aliphatic and aromatic polyketones, acrylic resins, poly(phenylene sulfide), polysulfones, styrene copolymers, aliphatic and aromatic polyamide resins, polyimides, polyamide imide, polyphthalamide, polyetherimide, and fluoropolymers (polytetrafluoroethylene, ethylene–tetrafluoroethylene copolymers, fluorinated ethylene–propylene copolymers, perfluorovinylether–tetrafluoroethylene copolymers). For engineering thermoplastics in general, this article provides a short development history and a discussion of industrial production methods, physical, thermal, mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties, processing technologies, and some applications. Because property values can vary in a wide range, representative figures are reported, mostly from commercial data sheets compiled by producers; these data are available on-line and are continuously updated. Some of the main properties are compared, on the frame of interpolymer competition. Keywords: engineering plastics; heat-resistant plastics; high performance thermoplastics; mechanical properties (of engineering plastics); thermal properties (of engineering plastics)