Why Thermoplastic Polyimide AURUM™ outperforms other polymers
Polyimide (abbreviated PI) is a polymer of imide monomers belonging to the class of high performance plastics. With their high heat-resistance, polyimides enjoy diverse applications in roles demanding rugged organic materials. Polyimide (PI) is a high temperature polymer that can be aromatic, semi-aromatic, or linear according to the composition of the chains. Aromatic molecular structure is the most used PI because of their thermostability. Depending on the type of molecular bonding within the chains, PI can be thermoplastic (TPI) or thermosetting (PI-s)
When heated TPI becomes soft and melts as the bonding within the chains cannot be broken but the chains can slip easily. In the contrast to this Thermosetting become hard or they cure as the chains have the ability to break down and make bonding with other adjacent chains in 3D space, knows as cross-linking.
BIEGLO offers thermoplastic polyimide polymer AURUM™ by ©Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. AURUM™ is known for its high temperature stiffness with Tg=245°C ( 473°F). It also shows critical PV values in the highest class of Thermoplastics which gives AURUM™ excellent sliding properties. AURUM™’s thermoplastic nature exhibits superior dimensional stability. AURUM™ is also superior to PEEK in terms of resistance to radiation, this makes it useful for applications in switches and socket components in nuclear power. The superior creep resistance property of AURUM™ makes it suitable for automotive industry for applications such as thrust washers, seal rings, bearings and even wire coatings. Since AURUM™ has a polyimide backbone structure, it exhibits excellent chemical resistance. It is also resistant to automotive gasoline and various lubricants, as well as various aviation fuels, lubricants and cleaning agents. Moreover, with all these outstanding properties AURUM™ has low outgassing even at higher temperatures.
All the properties of AURUM™ make it suitable thermoplastic for applications involving high temperatures, friction and even harsh conditions such as radiation. Applications include turbocharger abradable seals, bearings of aircraft engines, pistons in small combustion engines, oil seals for construction machinery and many more.
Find more information about AURUM ™ on our website and on Mitsui Chemicals' Website.
Polymer Thermoplastic and Thermosetting