Commercial polymer blends and alloys

The following index of trade names and suppliers is based on a choice of commercial polymer blends and alloys. No claim is made for completeness. Detailed lists can be found in the source cited. 

Chanda, M. and S. K. Roy. 2007. Plastics Technology Handbook, 4th ed. Plastic Engineering, vol. 72, Boca Raton CRC Press. Covers processes and property data of industrial polymers. Appendices cover trade names and abbreviations for industrial polymers formulations commercial polymer blends and alloys properties of polymers, rubber compounds, and textile fibers. Available online on CRCnetBASE. 

Copolymer technology is progressing along two "fronts." First, new appHcations for copolymers are being found to increase the volume of materials that are already commercially available. One example of this is the rapid growth of styrenic block copolymers sold as asphalt (qv) and polymer modifiers over the past 10 years (Fig. 7). Another is the increased interest in graft and block copolymers as compatihilizers for polymer blends and alloys. Of particular interest are compatihilizers for recycled polymer scrap. 

Utracki, L. A., Polymer Blends and Alloys, Hanser Publishers, Munich-New York (1989) Commercial Polymer Blends, Chapman and Hall, London (1998). 

The pace of developing new molecules has not stopped, but it has slowed considerably as new chemistry is expensive and takes a long time to commercialize. Polymer blending or alloying has become an alternate route to new products and for problem-solving [3]. 

Sweeney, F.M. In Polymer Blends and Alloys Guide to Commercial Products (1988) Technomic Pub., Lancaster. 

The terms polymer blends and polymer alloys are defined in Chapters 1 and 2 of this Handbook. In the trade literature, they have been used interchangeably. In the context of current discussion, we will treat all of them simply as polymer blends, except specifying, where possible, the origin of the technological compatibility between the components in each type of blend. Table 15.1 fists the commercially available polymer blends according to their primary structural categories (Figure 15.1). 

The physical mixing of two or more polymers to crate a material with properties different from each of the components has become an increasingly popular route to new materials development. The resulting blend or alloy greatly reduces the associated time and costs while permitting improved processibility and enhanced properties tailored to specific application areas. Many commercial examples of two-phase polyblends consist of a matrix polymer impact modified by the addition of rubber particles. Recently, however, TLCPs have received increasing attention in the scientific and technical literature as in situ reinforcements in polymer blends and microcomposites. The matrices examined in the literature include polyimides, PES, PEI, PEEK, polycarbonate, PET, PPS, and polyarylate. 

The market for commercial polymer blends has grown steadily over the past four decades. A recent estimate of the polymer alloy/blend market by volume for 2012 was about 2.2 billion pounds. The market was projected to grow to about 2.6 billion pounds by 2018 (BCC Research 2013). The principal markets for all blends include the automotive industry phone, computer, and other business machine housings electrical components such as connectors appliances consumer products recreational equipment and construction and industrial applications. 

L.A. IJtvadd, Polymer Alloys and Blends, Thermodynamics and Rheology (Hsaise, Mamch, 1989) L.A. Utracki (ed.). Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Commercial Polymer Blends (ChtanTec Pub, Toronto, 1994)... 

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