Polysulfone
Polysulfone, or PSU, is a polymer thermoplastic material. It is tough, rigid, high-strength, and transparent, retaining its properties between −100 °C and +150 °C.
It has very high dimensional stability; the size change when exposed to boiling water or +150 °C air or steam generally falls below 0.1%.
Polysulfone is highly resistant to mineral acids, alkali, and electrolytes, in pH ranging from 2 to 13. It is resistant to oxidizing agents, therefore it can be cleaned by bleaches. It is also resistant to surfactants and hydrocarbon oils. It is not resistant to low-polar organic solvents (eg. ketones and chlorinated hydrocarbons), and aromatic hydrocarbons.
Due to its excellent electrical properties, polysulfone is used as a dielectric in capacitors. Mechanically, polysulfone has fairly high compaction resistance, allowing its use under high pressures.
Polysulfone can be reinforced with glass fibers. The resulting composite material has twice the tensile strength and three times increase of its modulus.
Polysulfone can be used in Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-recognized devices. It is used in medical devices, food processing, feeding systems, and automotive and electronic industry.
Polysulfone has the highest service temperature of all melt-processable thermoplastics. Its resistance to high temperatures gives it a role of a flame retardant, without compromising its strength that usually results from addition of flame retardants. Its high hydrolysis stability allows its use in medical applications requiring autoclave and steam sterilization.
Polysulfone is very expensive both as raw material and to process, therefore it is generally not used in applications that do not call for its special properties. In such applications, it is often a superior replacement for polycarbonates.
Polysulfone can easily be processed by Injection Moulding, and ProPlastix can advise on all your specific applications.
