Polyphenylene ether (PPE). Polyarylenesulfones (PSU, PES, PAS)

The polymers studied in this dossier - polyphenylene ether (PPE), polysulfone (PSU), polyethersulfone (PES) and polyarylsulfones (PAS) - are so-called thermostable thermoplastic engineering polymers. The systematic presence of aromatic nuclei on the main chain explains the high thermal resistance of these compounds.

In 1965, General Electric synthesized polyphenylene ether or PPE (also known as polyphenylene oxide or PPO). This polymer is usually blended with polystyrene or impact polystyrene, to facilitate processing and improve impact strength. Thanks to the complete miscibility of polyphenylene ether PPE with polystyrene or its copolymers, the range of modified PPE is consequently very broad and, as we shall see, thermomechanical properties vary widely as a result.

Union Carbide was the first company to manufacture polysulfone PSU in 1965, followed by polyarylsulfone (PAS) in 1976. Polyethersulfone (PES) was introduced to the market by Imperial Chemical Industry (ICI) in the late 1970s.