Thermoplastic elastomer, referred to as TPE or TPR, is the abbreviation of Thermoplastic rubber. It is a kind of elastomer with rubber elasticity at normal temperature and plasticization molding at high temperature. The structural characteristics of thermoplastic elastomers are different resin segments and rubber segments composed of chemical bonds. The resin segments form physical cross-linking points by virtue of inter-chain forces. The rubber segments are highly elastic segments and contribute elasticity. The physical cross-linking of the plastic segment changes reversibly with temperature, which shows the plastic processing characteristics of thermoplastic elastomers. Therefore, thermoplastic elastomers have the physical and mechanical properties of vulcanized rubber and the processing and processing properties of thermoplastics. They are a new type of polymer material between rubber and resin, and are often referred to as third-generation rubber.
Advantages of TPE: (1) It can be processed by general thermoplastic molding machines, such as injection molding, extrusion molding, blow molding, compression molding, and transfer molding. (2) It can be vulcanized with a rubber injection molding machine, and the time can be shortened from about 20 minutes to less than 1 minute. (3) Extruder can be used for molding and vulcanization, with high extrusion speed and short curing time. (4) Waste materials (escape raw edges, extruded waste rubber) and final waste products produced during the production process can be directly returned for reuse. (5) Used TPE old products can be simply recycled and reused again, reducing environmental pollution and expanding sources of resource regeneration. (6) No vulcanization is required, saving energy. Take the energy consumption of high pressure hose production as an example: 188MJ / kg for rubber and 144MJ / kg for TPE, which can save more than 25% of energy. (7) The self-reinforcing property is large, and the formula is greatly simplified, so that the influence of the compounding agent on the polymer is greatly reduced, and the quality and performance are easier to grasp. (8) To open up new ways for the rubber industry and expand the application fields of rubber products.
Disadvantages of TPE: The heat resistance of TPE is not as good as that of rubber. As the temperature rises, the physical properties decrease greatly, so the scope of application is limited. At the same time, compression deformation, resilience, and durability are worse than rubber, and the price is often higher than similar rubber. However, in general, the advantages of TPE are still very prominent, while the disadvantages are constantly being improved. As a new energy-saving and environmentally friendly rubber raw material, the development prospect is very promising.
Thermoplastic elastomer is a new type of polymer material between rubber and resin, which can not only replace part of rubber, but also modify plastic. The dual properties and wide characteristics of rubber and plastics of thermoplastic elastomers make it widely used in the rubber industry to make rubber shoes, rubber cloths and other daily products and hoses, tapes, rubber strips, rubber sheets, rubber parts, and adhesives. Various industrial supplies. At the same time, thermoplastic elastomers can also be used instead of rubber to modify a large number of general thermoplastic resins such as PVC, PE, PP, PS and even engineering plastics such as PU, PA, CA, etc., making the plastic industry a new situation.