Polyphenylsulfone (PPSF or PPSU) is a high performance

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

made of

aromatic In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic ( ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to satur ...

rings linked by

sulfone In organic chemistry, a sulfone is a organosulfur compound containing a sulfonyl () functional group attached to two carbon atoms. The central hexavalent sulfur atom is double-bonded to each of two oxygen atoms and has a single bond to each of ...

(SO2) groups.

Production

Commercially important polysulfones are prepared by condensation of 4,4'-bis(chlorophenyl)sulfone with various

bisphenols The bisphenols () are a group of chemical compounds related to diphenylmethane. Most are based on two hydroxyphenyl functional groups linked by a methylene bridge. Exceptions include bisphenol S, P, and M. "Bisphenol" is a common name; the lette ...

. Two bisphenols for this application are bisphenol A (the polymer being called PSF) and 4,4'-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfone (the polymer being called PES).

Applications

PPSF is a moldable

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

often used in rapid prototyping and

rapid manufacturing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

(

direct digital manufacturing 3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...

) applications. Polyphenylsulfone is heat and chemical-resistant suited for automotive, aerospace, and plumbing applications. Polyphenylsulfone has no melting point, reflecting its amorphous nature, and offers

tensile strength Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), often shortened to tensile strength (TS), ultimate strength, or F_\text within equations, is the maximum stress that a material can withstand while being stretched or pulled before breaking. In brittle materials t ...

up to 55

MPa MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mou ...

(8000

psi Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to: Alphabetic letters * Psi (Greek) (Ψ, ψ), the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet * Psi (Cyrillic) (Ѱ, ѱ), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek Arts and entertainment * "Psi" as an abbreviatio ...

). Its commercial name is Radel. In plumbing applications, polyphenylsulfone fittings have been found to sometimes form cracks prematurely or to experience failure when improperly installed using non-manufacturer approved installation methods or systems.Failure Analysis of Plastic Crimp Fitting Assemblies
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References

Plastics 3D printing Polymers {{polymer-stub