Sumitomo Chemical Advanced Technologies LLC has introduced three new PES grades to meet the needs of formulators.
Achieve High-performance in Aggressive Environments
SumikaExcel 4100P is the standard coating grade and SumikaExcel 4100MP is the same material but is offered ground to a micron-powder, which enhances solubility and dispersion.
A third grade, SumikaExcel 5003PS has been chemically modified to possess a large number of hydroxyl (-OH)end groups — on average 0.6-1.4 per 100 repeating polymer units — which, in turn, can be used to create cross-linked structures that further increase the material’s already-good chemical resistance, surface hardness, and adhesion to metals. That makes it ideal for use for paint and coatings requiring higher performance in more aggressive environments.
For organic solvent-based paints and coatings, typically formulators will select either the standard SumikaExcel 4100P grade or —where a harder coating is needed — the functionalized SumikaExcel 5003PS grade. For water-based paints and coatings, the SumikaExcel 4100MP micron-powder grade is typically used owing to its finer particle size (available ground to powders with average particle sizes as fine as 15 µm) for easier mixing and dispersion in water-based solvents.
PES is beneficial in the paint and coatings market include the material’s stability even after long periods of use in air at temperatures up to 250°C and under conditions of repeated heating/cooling cycles (from 0°C to 250°C to 0°C again); its excellent hydrolysis resistance under humid conditions or in water; its superior film-forming properties, which provide excellent adhesion as well as protection to substrate materials; its high and inherent flame retardance without need for flame-retardant additives; and its excellent transparency that does not change the appearance of the base material.
Additionally, the material meets all U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) requirements for food-contact applications and does not support microbial growth.
PES as a Corrosion Protection Coating
Since PES also has an ability to modify the surface properties of substrates, it not only adheres well to the substrate material itself, but it functions as a binder to ensure that other components in the paint/coating also bond to the substrate. That makes PES highly desirable as a corrosion protection coating for metals in the oil & gas industry and for non-stick surfaces (in combination with fluoropolymers like polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)) for cookware.
In the non-stick cookware segment, which is growing in popularity with new appliances such as air fryers, PES often competes with polyamide imide (PAI), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), and polyetherimide (PEI). Versus thermoset PAI, PES is more affordable and far easier to process. Versus thermoplastics like PPS and PEI, PES offers higher surface hardness and higher glass-transition temperature (Tg), although PPS has a slightly higher melting temperature (Tm).
Source: Sumitomo