In a first for the footwear industry, Huntsman has developed a liquid thermoplastic polyurethane (LTPU) that enables the rapid manufacture of high-performing midsoles and is aligned with the circularity ambitions of brands manufacturing sports and athleisure footwear.
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Adhesive innovations with styrenic thermoplastic elastomers In automobile manufacturing, hot melt adhesives have numerous purposes, such as applications in the trunk, roof linings, seat assembly, filter manufacturing, emblems, trim and assembly bonding. The trunks
of modern cars, especially trucks with large storage space, are complex. Individual elements, such as the trunk floor, rear seat backs, rear covers, etc., have been produced for several years with dispersion based adhesive systems, with a growing trend of polyurethane reactive (PUR) systems.
The research team of China’s Xi’an Jiaotong University used the reversible thermochrome deformation ability of liquid crystal elastomers, combined with the excellent mechanical properties of continuous fiber materials, to propose a direct-writing 4D printing method based on continuous fiber-reinforced liquid crystal elastomers. The continuous fibers embedded in the liquid crystal elastomer composite material played a role in significantly enhancing the mechanical properties and realizing the effect of bending deformation.
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A few of the well-known market leaders in the global thermoplastic elastomer market that are profiled by Research Nester are Arkema Group, Huntsman International LLC, Covestro AG, KRAIBURG TPE GmbH & Co. KG, Kent Elastomer Products, ALTANA AG, Tosoh America, Inc., The Lubrizol Corporation, Teknor Apex Company, Inc., JSR Corporation, and other key market players
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Researchers at Nagoya University and Zeon Corporation received two awards in May 2023 for the development of tough noncovalently-functionalized styrenic thermoplastic elastomers. They chemically modified Zeon’s QuintacTM, a styrenic thermoplastic elastomer marketed by Zeon Corporation, to develop “tough functionalized styrenic thermoplastic elastomers”. Since the newly developed SIS with noncovalently-functionalized polyisoprene is a lightweight yet tough and highly impact resistant material, its development should contribute to the goal of reaching a net-zero carbon and sustainable society.
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Thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) is one of the fastest growing commercial roofing systems on the market. Developed in Europe in the 1970s, TPO was introduced to the U.S. market in the late 1980s and has become the dominant installed roof system in the industry; now used on 53% of commercial roofs, according to the American Institute of Architects.
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Septon BIO-series styrenic elastomer contains a monomer derived from renewable resources.
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Overmolding TPEs based on styrene block copolymers offer significant adhesion to polar substrates.
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A rheology approach was used to analyze the elastic recovery and processability of hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (SEBS) and SEBS/polypropylene/oil blends.
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Bonding thermoplastic elastomers to polar and non-polar substrates has been widely studied in the past few decades to create products that enhance ergonomic comfort and functionality. Overmolding a TPE compared to two-shot molding is a litmus test for bonding the material to the substrate. The TPE must wet the cold surface and must melt a few nanometers of the surface of the substrate that is being overmolded on to facilitate bonding.
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