Polyether Ether Ketone: A Versatile High-Performance Thermoplastic
Polyether Ether Ketone Polyether ether ketone, commonly known as PEEK, is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic belonging to the polyaryletherketone (PAEK) family of thermoplastics. It was first developed by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s as an alternative to metal in applications requiring higher temperature operation. PEEK is highly resistant to chemicals, heat and wear, making it a superb engineering material for components exposed to demanding operating conditions. Let's explore more about PEEK's properties and applications. Chemical Structure and Properties The chemical structure of PEEK consists of aromatic ether ketone repeating units formed from p-phenylene groups connected by ether groups and ketone groups in the meta-position. This arrangement gives Polyether Ether Ketone its unique combination of properties. Given its aromatic chemical structure, PEEK exhibits excellent heat resistance up to 260°C. It also has very high mech...