Polyethylene naphthalate plastic

In the early 1990s interest developed in the packaging material polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), a close cousin of PET. PEN has thermal stability 20°C higher than PET. Kodak had samples of the material sifting in its labs from the makers Teijin in Japan, as early as the beginning of the 1970s. Teijin is still the premier producer of PEN film and plastic today, and is involved with DuPont on the film manufacturing side. 

The di-aromatic 2,6 dimethylnaphthalene (26DMN) is of particular interest for the production of polyethylene naphthalate (PEN). PEN has superior oxygen barrier and temperature resistance properties relative to PET, making it a top prospect for applications in beer bottling and reusable plastic bottle applications. Because of its superior properties to neat PET (PEN can also be incorporated into PET resin) it has a good possibility of growing in demand. 

Perhaps the most exciting developments are yet to feature in fruit juice packaging. PET can be laminated with other plastics, such as nylon and ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH), to give extremely good barrier properties, and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) may enable production of a plastic bottle that can be pasteurised at high temperatures. 

PETE can be used to make shatterproof plastic bottles, such as those used for soft drinks. However, these bottles cannot be recycled and reused directly because they cannot withstand the high temperatures required to sterilize them. PETE can t be used for any foods, such as jellies, that must be packaged at high temperatures. Eor these uses, a new plastic, PEN, or polyethylene naphthalate, is used. 

The major plastic resins used in packaging are high-density polyethylene, low-density and Unear low-density polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride. A variety of plastics are used in lesser quantities nylons or polyamides, polycarbonate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyvinyhdene chloride, ethylene vinyl alcohol, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl acetate, polyacrylonitrile, and more. In many applications, copolymers... 

DSSCs based on plastic substrates have also received attention in recent years because they are lightweight and suitable for roll-to-roll manufacturing processes. Ma et al. have prepared DSSCs using Pt deposited on plastic substrates, achieving 5.4% efficiency using a polyethylene naphthalate film coated with tin-doped indium oxide (ITO-PEN), compared with 5.39% efficiency obtained for Pt/FTO in the same... 

The substrates or support coated on include paper and paper board, cellophane, polyCethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyCvinyl chloride), polyCvinyl fluoride), poly(vinylidene fluoride), polyimide, metal foils, woven and nonwoven fabrics, fibers, and metal coils. The surfaces of these supports can be impervious as in plastic films, or there may be a pore structure such as in paper. Primer coatings... 

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