The Difference between TPE and Rubber
Source：德創(chuàng)化工Time：2019-12-19Hits：3277
thermoplastic elastomer
Thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) refers to a high molecular material that has the properties of vulcanizing rubber (i.e. the properties of elastomer) at normal temperature and can plastify and deform at high temperature. It has the property of sulfur-added rubber, but does not need sulfur addition. In addition, TPE has many characteristics intermediate between rubber and plastic. . It can use plastic processing machines such as injection molding, extrusion molding, blow molding, calendering molding, T-Die casting molding and other faster processing methods than traditional vulcanized rubber to manufacture finished products, and has the advantages of light weight (low density), environmental protection (recyclable, non-toxic combustion), long service life (up to 5-10 times more than traditional rubber), large processing variability, low total product cost and the like. It is gradually widely used in various industries. TPE is sometimes called Thermoplastic Rubber (TPR), but by definition, TPE is more appropriate.
Rubber
Rubber is an organic polymer with a molecular weight of hundreds of thousands. It is different from other industrial materials in four aspects:
First, it can maintain high elasticity in a large temperature range (-50-150 C);
Second, the elastic modulus is low, 3 orders of magnitude lower than that of ordinary materials;
Third, the deformation is large, and the maximum elongation can reach 1000% (general materials are less than 1%);
Fourth, heat is released during stretching, while ordinary materials absorb heat.
Fifth, the elasticity increases with the increase of temperature, which is also opposite to common materials. "
The properties of elastomer and rubber are basically overlapped "low modulus, high elongation", but they are not exactly the same, showing at least the following two aspects:
1. The superior characteristics of rubber can be brought into full play only after crosslinking (vulcanization), while thermoplastic elastomers are not.
2. Thermoplastic elastomer materials can be directly manufactured by plastic processing methods without traditional rubber processes such as compounding, rubber refining and vulcanization. Therefore, the coverage of elastomer is wider than that of rubber. For example, thermoplastic elastomer SBS is a typical example.
