Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)

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 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
General Description

Benzene rings and sulfur atoms form the backbone of

the symmetrical macromolecule and characterize the
properties:
- high strength, stiffness and hardness,
- high heat distortion temperature,
- low moisture absorption,
- favorable flow properties,
- high dimensional stability,
- high chemical resistance,
- high weathering and radiation resistance,
- low flammability (without additives).
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)

Structure and General Properties

 PPS has a symmetrical structure and is

only slightly branched
 So it is highly crystalline; degree of
crystallinity, and thus the properties of
moldings, depend on the thermal history
to a very great extent.
 melting temperature is 285°C
 toughness of the brittle basic material is
improved by the addition of glass fiber
and mineral fibers.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Additives
Among the high temperature resistant additives, the
most important are glass fiber, carbon fiber & mineral
fillers such as chalk, iron oxide and others
•

• Carbon fiber reduces surface resistance & in

special cases achieves a desired electrical
conductivity
• Mineral fillers improve processability, reduce
shrinkage (particularly anisotropic shrinkage)
and improve surface gloss
• Graphite increases the stiffness of molded
material
• PTFE improves the friction and wear
characteristics.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Availability

Four basic grades of PPS compounds are:

• glass-reinforced
• glass- & mineral filled
• pigmented glass- & mineral filled and
• carbon fiber-reinforced.

40% glass-reinforced material has lower density and

higher mechanical strength than glass- and mineral
filled compounds which offer a good balance of
properties at a lower cost & the pigmented glass- &
mineral filled grade offers competitive properties &
attractive colour at an intermediate cost.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Thermal Properties

No appreciable weight loss in filled PPS below 500oC

in N2 or air.
Coefficient of linear expansion is comparable to
that of aluminium.
Water absorption of PPS is low. After immersion in
water for 31 days at 100 °C, the increase in weight
was only 1.01 %.
Good Heat ageing resistance - UL long-term
temperature indices of 170 °C for 40% w/w glass
reinforced PPS (Ryton R-4) & 200 °C for 40% w/w
glass- and mineral filled PPS (Ryton R-8)
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Resistance to Chemicals

• PPS has excellent chemical resistance, better than

other advanced engineering plastics
• No known solvents below 200°C
• Inert to steam, strong bases, fuels and acids
• Minimal moisture absorption

• Very low coefficient of linear thermal expansion

• Stress-relieving manufacturing
• PPS ideally suited for precise tolerance machined
components
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Resistance to Chemicals

At room temperature PPS is resistant to

• dilute mineral acids,
• alkaline solutions,
• aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons,
• ketones,
• alcohols
• chlorinated hydrocarbons,
• oils,
• fats,
• water and hydrolysis
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Flammability

• PPS exhibits excellent fire retardancy (LOI = 53)

• When exposed to a flame, molded PPS

extinguishes only after removal of the
ignition source & then chars forming shiny
black crust there is slight expansion

• It burns with a yellowish-orange flame giving

off grey smoke with black traces and a smell
of rotten eggs
• It does not drip.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)

Processing

• PPS is injection and compression molded.

• Non-stick coatings are applied to metal parts

by fluidized bed dipping or electrostatic
spraying.

• Mold cavities should be well ventilated as air

inclusions lead to weak flow lines.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Processing

Pre-drying
• The glass fiber reinforced grades require drying
only when stored in poor conditions.

• It is recommended that the mineral-filled grades

are dried for 6 hours at 160°C.

• Regrind must be pre-dried. The excellent thermal

stability of the material enables the proportion of
regrind to be as high as 35%.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)

Processing

• Melt temperature is 340 to 370°C

• Mold temperature 25 to 200°C. At 120°C, molding

surfaces become smooth and shiny. The toughest
moldings are obtained at 40°C

• Molding shrinkage is 1 % for unreinforced & 0.2%

for glass fiber reinforced material

• Metal inserts cause stress cracking which can be

avoided by selecting special purpose grades
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)

Joining

Moldings can be joined by screws. Vibration

welding provides higher strength joins than
ultrasonic welding.

PPS can be bonded to itself and most other

materials including metals with epoxide resin
adhesives, cyanoacrylate and reactive
monomeric acrylate systems.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)

Typical Applications
Pump Parts:
Housings, impellers, bushings, ball valves, pump
vanes, end plates, oil well valves , oil well sucker
rod guides and heat shields

Electrical components:
High voltage enclosures and sockets, coil bobbins,
yokes and connectors, printed circuits for digital
watches, relay housings, guides and switch relays,
encapsulating of contacts and connectors.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Typical Applications

valve &
compressor
parts

Oil field parts

 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
Typical Applications

HPLC COMPONENTS

SOCKET ASSEMBLY
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)

New applications:
• High pressure liquid chromatography components,
• Wafer retaining rings for CMP polishing,
• Hydrocarbon pump, valve & compressor parts
• Oil field parts,
• Aerospace components
• Medical and diagnostic device parts
• Electronic device encapsulation,
• Microwave cookware,
• Thick-walled mechanical parts,
• High arc resistance,
• High modulus anti-friction devices.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)

Typical Applications

• PPS is also used in the coatings industry.

• Slurry coatings can be applied by a spraying and

baking operation.

• Release coatings are formulated from PPS along

with small amounts of PTFE and appropriate
pigments and applied by slurry techniques.
 Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)
MANUFACTURERS
Celstran® PPS (Ticona)
Comshield® PPS (A. Schulman Inc.)
Larton PPS (LATI S.P.A.)
NOVAPPS®PPS (Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics Corp)
RTP Compounds PPS (RTP Company)
Ryton® PPS (Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.)
SUPEC* PPS (GE Advanced Materials Asia Pacific)
Techtron® PPS (Quadrant Engineering Plastic Products)
TEDUR® PPS (Albis Plastics Corporation)
Thermotuf* PPS (LNP Engineering Plastics Inc.)
Torelina® PPS, PPS Alloy (Toray Resin Company)
TOYOBO PPS (TOYOBO America, Inc.)
Xtel(TM) PPS (Chevron Phillips Chemical Co.)