Overview of PETG
PETG is a copolymer product obtained by replacing part of ethylene glycol with other glycols (comonomers) during PET synthesis, and the replacement of ethylene glycol by comonomers will reduce the melting point of copolyester, increase the glass transition temperature, and decrease the crystallinity. PETG products have high transparency, excellent thermoforming performance, toughness, weather resistance, easy processing, chemical resistance, suitable for producing thick-walled transparent products. It’s an ideal alternative to existing polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) materials. PETG is an environmentally friendly material, which meets the requirements of food contact management. It’s non-toxic and harmless to the human body and the natural environment, it does not produce unpleasant odors during thermal processing. It does not release toxic gases during incineration, and does not pollute groundwater sources after landfill treatment. With the improvement of China's environmental protection requirements, PETG products have ushered in broad development opportunities. The properties of PETG and other chemical materials are compared as follows:
|
Material |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
Anti-aging time |
|
PETG |
Chemical resistance, good optical properties, good scratch resistance, low temperature resistance (-40 °C), pressure resistance, impact resistance, good printability |
The high temperature resistance is slightly worse, but it also meets the daily environment within 80°C |
10-20 years |
|
PC |
Good mechanical properties, creep resistance, high and low temperature resistance, good dimensional stability |
Poor environmental protection (including bisphenol A), poor fatigue resistance, poor solvent resistance, not resistant to ultraviolet light and strong alkalis |
10-20 years |
|
PMMA |
Transparency, chemical stability, weather resistance |
Poor heat resistance, scratch resistance, easy to burn |
3-5 years |
|
PET |
Fatigue resistance, low temperature resistance, friction resistance, good stability |
Poor impact resistance |
10-20 years |
|
PVC |
Chemical resistance |
Low softening point, toxic release |
3-5 years |
|
ABS |
High and low temperature resistance, chemical resistance |
Impatient to the weather |
3-5 years |
PETG has a wide range of application scenarios and huge demand potential, including:
a) Plates, sheets
Through conventional molding methods, PETG can make thick-walled transparent products, with outstanding toughness and high impact strength, cold bending without whitening, no cracks, easy to print and modify, can be widely used in indoor and outdoor signage, storage shelves, vending machine panels, furniture, construction and mechanical baffles, etc. PETG is also suitable for making bank cards, ID cards. At present, the main material for bank cards is polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which has better environmental characteristics than PETG. According to People's Bank of China data, by the end of 2018, the number of debit and credit cards issued in China reached 6.91 billion and 686 million respectively. According to Visa, one of the world's largest credit card organizations, it issued 3.4 billion credit cards as of 2019. Visa has endorsed PETG as its credit card material. In addition, PETG has been widely used in the production of China's second-generation resident ID cards, Hong Kong and Macao permits and other licenses, but currently mainly relies on imports.
b) Profile
PETG is easy to process, in addition to plates, sheets, can also be made into film, bottles and other profiled products, a wide range of application scenarios:
|
Application |
Brief introduction |
|
Films |
Specially used in high-performance shrink film, with a final shrinkage rate of more than 70%, can be made into packaging of complex shaped containers, with high blister, high gloss, low haze, easy to print, not easy to fall off, low natural shrinkage when stored. Among them, biaxially oriented PETG film is suitable for high-grade packaging, printing, electronic appliances, cable wrapping, insulation materials and high-quality substrates in various industrial fields. PETG shrink film is suitable for topical labels such as various containers. Compared with PC shrink film, PETG shrink film also has the advantages of environmental protection. |
|
Food, medical products |
Improve the lack of low toughness of traditional polyester bottle flakes, especially suitable for the manufacture of large-capacity, thick-walled, transparent containers, highly transparent, not easy to break, easy to surface modification, to meet the US FDA food contact standards, can be applied to food and medical products and other fields. |
|
Cosmetics |
PETG has glass-like transparency and a gloss close to glass, chemical resistance, impact resistance; And easy to process, can produce unique shapes, appearances and special effects through a variety of molding methods, such as bright colors, matte, marble texture, metallic luster, etc. Products include perfume bottles and caps, cosmetic bottles and caps, lipstick tubes, cosmetic cases, deodorant packaging, talcum powder bottles and eyeliner sleeves, etc. |
Source: CR Materials Prospect
Translated by Deyi Plastic
