Since its introduction in 1972 by ICI, the polymer material, PES, has been the favorite choice of most manufacturers. Well, that's deserved.

In essence, polyethersulfone is a high-performing polymer with superior temperature engineering. On top of that, it boasts terrific flame resistance and transparency, making it the perfect choice for applications across medical, automotive, aerospace, and several other industries.

One major concern about most polymer materials is their smoke emission. Fortunately, this material is amongst the polymers with the least smoke emission.

With that said, are you perhaps still wondering if it’s the right choice for you or not? In this article, we'll place this material on the balance of good and bad and see which outweighs the other.

What are the strengths of polyethersulfone?

Simply called PES/PESU, polyethersulfone is a thermoplastic, belonging to a class of materials containing the diphenyl sulfone unit. Materials that belong to this category have inherent superior temperature and flame resistance, high transparency, durability, and other properties that expand their use cases.

As a high-performing engineering thermoplastic, PES generates the least smoke with minimal flammability. As such, it remains the ideal fit for various airline regulations and manufacturing of the interior of aircraft. If you are opting for an unreinforced PES, you can use it for a number of electrical applications including, making parts for medical devices, windows of ovens, etc. Otherwise, if you're going for the reinforced, this is best suited for airplane parts, automotive, and randones.

Amongst every polysulfone material available today, polyethersulfone embodies the best temperature resistance and elasticity. It has a glass transition temperature of roughly 226 degrees Celsius. This makes the material very stable dimensionally across various temperatures. A heat deflection temperature of 200 to 263 degrees Celcius further reinforces its dimensional stability.

It has a superior impact strength and chemical resistance which further broadens its application. On top of that, it has terrific stiffness and stability, all available with minimal notch sensitivity.

What are the limitations of Polyethersulfone?

Firstly, PES is a bit pricey. However, considering the benefits it has in store, you can be sure you're getting the best value for your money.

Besides prices, the use of PES is quite restricted to highly demanding applications like aerospace, medical, electronics, etc. However, if you’re looking to widen your application, you can as well blend the high-performance natural with another thermoplastic. This exposes you to an entirely new world of opportunities in terms of processability and applicability. For instance, you can blend with PC to create materials with superior flow properties or with PA polymer alloys to shoot up their chemical resistance.

In closing

Without any doubt, the strengths of this material supersede its limitations. In fact, most of these limitations are things you can always work your way around.

So, are you more than convinced that this is the right material for you? Be sure to reach out to us at office@polima.com.cn and let’s make your getting started as seamless as possible.