Page 24 - Engineering Plastics Handbook

xxii Preface

Informative and valuable sections of the chapter are “Reengineering the
Molecule” and the previous sections to which this section refers,
“Commercial Production of Polycarbonate,” “Polycarbonate Properties:
General-Purpose and Application-Specific Grades,” “Applications using
Polycarbonates” and “Processing Polycarbonate.”
Chapter 15, “Reinforced Poly(Phenylene Sulfide),” from Chevron
Phillips Chemical Company is authored by two experts with many years
of first-hand experience in PPS. The chapter offers an insightful history
of the invention and development of PPS, which was discovered by Phillips
Petroleum Company in the mid-1960s. Reinforced PPS scientific and
technological advancements are continuing at Chevron Phillips Chemical.
Polymerization is much more complex than might be suggested, as the
authors describe. While other engineering thermoplastics (except PET)
are supplied in unreinforced and reinforced grades, engineering resin
PPS grades are always reinforced. The authors sum up PPS properties
stating that “commercial applications of reinforced PPS compounds gen-
erally exploit the plastic material’s exceptional combination of resistance
to thermal degradation, dimensional integrity at elevated temperatures,
resistance to chemical attack, and inherent flame retardant behavior,” and
“as an alternative to using metals, reinforced PPS compounds offer the
capability to mold complex shapes to tight tolerances, reducing produc-
tion costs compared to extensive machining operations, while incorpo-
rating a reduction in part weight.” Reinforced PPS with added glass fiber
and mineral fillers can have UL94 flammability ratings of UL94 V-0 and
UL94 5VA without incorporating flame retardant additives. Reinforced
PPS thermal stability is compared with other engineering plastics by
comparing their heat deflection temperature (HDT) and Underwriters
Laboratories Relative Thermal Index (UL RTI). Reinforced PPS chemi-
cal resistance is described in the chapter by statements such as, “There
is no organic solvent known to dissolve PPS at temperatures below 200°C
(392°F),” and “the PPS polymer backbone may only be attacked and
degraded by powerful oxidizing agents under extreme conditions of tem-
perature and/or concentration.” This statement is elaborated by the
authors who note that above 100°C (212°F)” in water, the adhesion
between glass fibers and PPS resin matrix may be weakened, and spe-
cial PPS grades containing unique coupling agents have been developed
to overcome this weakening at the fiber-matrix interface. A wide range
of products fabricated from reinforced PPS compounds are referred to,
with some emphasis on automotive components such as powertrain and
transmission components, and precision-molded electrical and electronic
components such as SMT (surface mount technology) applications.
The chapter discusses the development of new blends of PPS with poly-
mers such as elastomeric impact resistant modifiers, polycarbonates, pol-
yarylethersulfones, polyamide-imides, modified polyphenylene ethers,