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A Preview of the “14th Five-Year Plan” for New Materials—Trends in China’s New Materials Development
Release date:
2020/04/08
Materials are the material foundation of all human production and daily life, and have always served as a hallmark of productive forces. The ability to understand and harness materials determines the form of society and the quality of people’s lives. New materials, in turn, serve as the cornerstone for the development of strategic emerging industries.
Types of new materials
I. Current Status of China’s New Materials Industry
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The production status of new materials in China
China is now capable of producing—and is already producing—almost all new materials, including:
High-performance engineering materials
POK polyketone, PPO polyphenylene oxide, PPS polyphenylene sulfide, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyether sulfone (PES), polycarbonate (PC), POM, polyimide (PI), PA (6, 66, 11, 1010, 56, 46, 12…), PMMA, PET, PBT……..
Electronic chemicals
Photoresist, conductive polymer materials, electronic packaging materials, specialty electronic gases, chemicals specifically designed for flat panel displays (FPD), printed circuit board materials and supporting chemicals, chemicals for hybrid circuits, capacitor materials, electrical coatings, conductive polymers, and other chemicals used in electronics and electrical applications.
New elastomer
TPU, POE, SBS, SEBS, SEPS, TPEE, acrylic elastomers, nylon elastomers... (The total volume of new elastomers has already approached half that of traditional elastomers).
New type of fiber
Spandex, aramid, ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fiber...
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Strong application support drives the development of new materials in China.
Our country has a large base of industrial users;
A major and powerful shipbuilding nation;
The world's largest mobile phone manufacturer;
The country with the highest automobile production and sales volume;
The country with the highest quality and quantity of subways, bullet trains, and high-speed railways;
The country that ranks first globally in the production of white goods such as refrigerators and washing machines;
Therefore, in a strict sense, the robust downstream application industries have provided tremendous impetus for the development of China’s new materials industry.
(3)
Policy is driving the development of new materials in China.
(1) The National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce have released the “Catalogue of Industries Encouraging Foreign Investment (2019 Edition),” which specifically highlights the following sectors within the chemical raw materials and chemical products manufacturing industry: differentiated and functional polyester (PET); polyoxymethylene; polyphenylene sulfide; polyether ether ketone; polyimide; polysulfone; polyethersulfone; polyarylate (PAR); polyphenylene ether; polybutylene terephthalate (PBT); polyamide (PA) and its modified materials; liquid crystal polymers, and others.
(2) The National Development and Reform Commission’s “Three-Year Action Plan for Enhancing the Core Competitiveness of the Manufacturing Sector (2018-2020)” includes the following key chemical new materials and their critical technologies for industrialization: polyphenylene sulfide; polyphenylene ether; aromatic ketone polymers (polyetheretherketone, polyetherketone, polyetherketoneketone); polyaryletherether腈; polybenzimidazole; polyarylamide; polyarylether; thermotropic liquid crystal polymers; and novel biodegradable plastics.
(3) The “13th Five-Year Plan Guidance for the Petroleum and Chemical Industry” issued by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation identifies polymer materials as a strategic emerging industry and prioritizes their development. The document clearly states that the goal of polymer material development during the 13th Five-Year Plan period is to: focus on enhancing independent innovation capabilities, with special-purpose resins, engineering plastics, new functional materials, high-performance structural materials, and advanced composite materials as key areas of development. Specifically, it aims to develop technologies for producing engineering plastics, modified resins, high-end thermosetting resins and resin-based composites, as well as new materials such as biodegradable plastics.
(4) The China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation’s Guiding Opinions on Key Tasks for the Development of the New Chemical Materials Industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan: Develop resin materials—such as LCP, PI, and epoxy resins—for core copper-clad laminates used in 5G communication base stations; and high-performance engineering plastics including polysulfone, polyphenylsulfone, polyetheretherketone, and liquid crystal polymers.
In addition, the relevant policy planning for China’s new materials industry also includes:
Made in China 2025;
The “Guidance for the Development of New Materials Industries” will outline key directions for the development of new materials industries during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
(Four)
The application R&D system has become a powerful tool for the development of new materials.
Over the past several decades, China has built a highly sophisticated system for applied research and development. For instance, the Chinese Academy of Sciences—including institutions such as the Institute of Chemistry, the Institute of Process Engineering, the Ningbo Institute, the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, the Institute of Applied Chemistry, and the Institute of Coal Chemistry—has made irreplaceable and significant contributions to China’s scientific and technological progress, economic and social development, and national security.
According to material classification, the system includes the following established R&D institutions:
In addition, there are numerous R&D centers of major corporations, and their research on product applications—as well as the associated testing instruments and equipment—have reached world-leading levels in many areas.
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The gap with new materials from abroad
The main gap between China’s new materials industry and those abroad lies in high-quality new materials.
Our country lacks both cutting-edge R&D advantages and strong efforts to translate R&D results into practical applications; currently, we still rely mainly on imitation. Although many new materials are already capable of being produced, it’s impossible to avoid patent-related hurdles.
Development Trends of China's New Materials Industry
Developed countries are all making every effort to develop the new materials industry. For example, the United States refers to new materials as the “backbone of technological development.” Similarly, China’s development of new materials will gradually shift from raw materials and basic chemical materials to emerging materials, semiconductor materials, new energy materials, and energy-saving (lightweight) materials.
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The New Materials Industry Boom in Capital’s Eyes
1. A trillion-dollar growth opportunity
The trillion-yuan growth sector primarily focuses on cost-effective, high-performance electronic chemicals, including chips, sensors, and semiconductor electronics (such as electronic adhesives, photoresists, conductive materials, high-purity gases, and solvents).
2. A trillion-dollar growth opportunity
The trillion-dollar growth opportunity primarily revolves around new-energy-related materials, including solid-state batteries, fuel cells, hydrogen fuel cells, lithium batteries, solar photovoltaics, renewable energy, energy storage, and wind power.
3. Other hotspots
Other promising areas include: biodegradable materials, which are in a period of accelerated development (benefiting waste sorting and other initiatives); new materials for 3D printing; structured materials; and lightweight, energy-efficient materials.
(2)
A super money-printing machine for future new materials?
Three Hotspots in the New Materials Industry
1
One of the three major hot topics: Aramid, PI, and PA
⏬ Aramid—A Key Strategic Material
Aramid’s downstream applications are high-end and represent a critical strategic material.
Aramid products are characterized by high entry barriers, a small number of domestic enterprises, and a clear trend toward domestic substitution. Currently, the industry is experiencing a noticeable upward trend.
The barriers to entry for aramid products primarily consist of technical and customer-access barriers. To enter the market, companies must obtain safety certifications and demonstrate several years of successful track records. Moreover, downstream application sectors have extremely high safety requirements.
Currently, global para-aramid production is nearly in balance, and domestically, 80% of para-aramid is dependent on imports. Globally, as the range of application areas expands, demand for para-aramid is expected to gradually increase. It is projected that global demand for para-aramid will reach approximately 150,000 tons over the next five years. Assuming an annual growth rate of 10%, China's demand for para-aramid will reach 13,000 tons by 2020 and 25,000 tons by 2025.
The global meta-aramid industry is primarily dominated by companies such as DuPont from the United States, Taihe New Materials, and Teijin from Japan. Among them, DuPont holds the largest share with a capacity of 67%, while Teijin accounts for 7%.
⏬ Polyimide—“A Master at Solving Problems”
Polyimide is one of the organic polymer materials with the best overall performance. It exhibits excellent high-temperature resistance, with a maximum service temperature exceeding 400°C and a long-term operating temperature range of -200 to 300°C. Some grades have no distinct melting point. Polyimide also boasts high dielectric strength: at 103 Hz, its dielectric constant is 4.0, and its dielectric loss is only 0.004 to 0.007. Its thermal rating ranges from Class F to Class H.
PI film
PI film is the earliest and most mature product in the PI series, making it the optimal choice for insulating films. The wave of domesticating high-end products is already upon us.
PI films below the electronic-grade level have already achieved domestic self-sufficiency, while the market for PI films at the electronic-grade level and above is still largely dominated by overseas companies.
As domestic chemical imidization production lines gradually come online, Chinese manufacturers will participate in sharing a high-end market worth nearly 10 billion yuan. In the future, as the FCCL market maintains rapid growth and OLED technology spreads rapidly, driving up demand for flexible substrates, the high-end electronic-grade PI film market will enter a period of rapid expansion.
PI fiber
Rooted in the military market, we are accelerating the development of the civilian market. PI fiber boasts excellent thermal and mechanical properties, making it a core material for critical applications in aerospace and military aircraft. Its application in the military market is irreplaceable.
In the commercial sector, PI fibers are currently in the early stages of development for applications such as eco-friendly filters and fire-retardant materials, and they hold great potential to inject new vitality into the PI fiber industry in the future.
PI/PMI foam
Benefiting from the current boom in warship construction, we are ushering in an era of “blue ocean” opportunities. Currently, the most important application of PI foam is as an insulation and noise-reduction material for naval vessels. China’s navy is now experiencing its third major shipbuilding boom, and PI foam—being the preferred insulation and noise-reduction material for new-generation warships—is poised to see a rapid increase in demand in the future. In addition, PMI foam, as the premier structural foam core material, is widely used in wind turbine blades, helicopter blades, and aerospace applications. The trend toward replacing PET foam with PMI foam is clearly evident, opening up vast market potential.
PI-based composite material
Lightweighting is a major trend, with a strong focus on the high-end market. Fiber-reinforced composites represent the next-generation lightweight materials following magnesium-aluminum alloys. Composites based on polyimide as the resin matrix exhibit excellent high-temperature resistance and tensile performance, making them widely applicable. As the carbon fiber industry continues to mature, demand for carbon-fiber-reinforced composites has grown significantly. The combination of polyimide and carbon fiber—one of the most outstanding composite material pairings—clearly holds a competitive edge in capturing the high-end market.
PSPI (Photosensitive Polyimide)
Focusing on both photoresist and electronic packaging, we are poised to reap the benefits of the premiumization trend in the electronics industry. Photosensitive polyimide finds its primary applications in two major areas: photoresists and electronic packaging. Compared to conventional photoresists, PSPI photoresists eliminate the need for applying light-shielding agents, significantly reducing the number of processing steps. At the same time, PSPI also serves as an important adhesive material for electronic packaging.
Photosensitive polyimide, as an encapsulation material, can be used for applications such as buffer coatings, passivation layers, alpha-ray shielding materials, interlayer insulating materials, and wafer-level packaging materials. It is also widely employed in the microelectronics industry, including the encapsulation of integrated circuits and multi-chip packages.
Nylon
High-temperature resistant nylon
High-temperature nylon faces relatively high technological barriers, which has thus far prevented the industry from achieving large-scale development and leaving significant gaps in market demand. In China, research on high-temperature nylon started relatively late; the development of new varieties has primarily focused on modifying PA6T, with the synthesis of novel nylons serving as a secondary approach.
High-temperature nylon, as a high-performance engineering material, is seeing its market continue to expand. It is projected that China’s demand for high-temperature nylon will grow at a rate of 15% to 25% over the next few years.
High-temperature-resistant nylon accounts for 20-30% of the potential demand for nylon, and within five years, China's market demand for nylon is expected to reach tens of thousands of tons.
Nylon elastomer
Nylon elastomers are polyester/polyether-polyamide block copolymers, the most common of which is polyether-block amide (PEBA). Their most notable properties include high resilience, lightweight nature, and excellent low-temperature impact resistance.
The energy return of the nylon elastomer can reach 85%, about 15% higher than that of Boost cushioning technology, delivering even better shock-absorbing and cushioning performance. Compared to TPU, it is lighter in weight.
The synthesis technology for nylon elastomers has a high technical barrier and is largely controlled by major foreign companies such as Arkema of France, Evonik of Germany, and Ube Industries of Japan.
The nylon elastomer market boasts enormous growth potential. In addition to the demand for shoe soles—estimated at 44 billion pairs per year—it also offers an alternative to polyurethane soft foams and synthetic running track materials.
The second of the three major hotspots: Electronic chemicals
Electronic chemicals are fine chemical materials specifically designed to support processes such as development, etching, cleaning, and electroplating in the manufacturing of electronic information products. They are crucial supporting materials for information industries, including integrated circuit and flat-panel display manufacturing.
In 2017, the global output value of electronic chemicals exceeded 150 billion U.S. dollars, with China accounting for approximately 260 billion yuan. It is projected that from 2018 to 2022, the average annual growth rate will be around 11%. Companies including Dow, Honeywell, Mitsubishi Chemical, and BASF are all vying to shift their focus in the electronic chemicals business toward the Asia-Pacific region, including China. Thanks to its abundant raw material resources and proximity to downstream demand, China enjoys significant advantages, making the relocation of electronic chemicals production capacity to the domestic market an inevitable trend.
Hotspot No. 3: Lightweight and Energy-Saving Materials
The key to lightweighting—high-performance new materials such as TPEE, POM, PI, PA, PU, TEEK, PPA, and PTT—replace steel, which is several times heavier.
Polymer curing technology—A research team led by Professor Scott White from the University of Illinois in the United States has developed a new polymer curing technology that can complete polymer manufacturing in a short time using only a small heat source. Compared to current manufacturing processes, this technology reduces energy consumption by a factor of 10 and cuts down labor hours by a factor of 100.
Carbon fiber—achieving lightweight design while pursuing high performance.
The Four Major Materials of the New Materials Industry
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One of the Four Major Materials: Thin Films
Material Thin-Film Market
China’s materials thin-film industry has maintained steady growth. From 2010 to 2017, China’s output of materials thin films increased from 79.9 million tons to 157 million tons, with an average annual compound growth rate of 10%.
In 2017, global sales of liquid crystal polymer films and laminates totaled approximately 9,050 tons, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.7%.
Express packaging films will show a trend toward reduced usage, greening, and recyclability.
Optical films for backlight modules will trend toward higher brightness, thinner profiles, lighter weights, and wider color gamuts.
Optical polyester film industry
The technology for preparing functional polyester raw materials is one of the core technologies of film-manufacturing enterprises. Among these, nano- and micro-scale additive modification—particularly in terms of smoothness and uniformity, crystallization uniformity, and antistatic film properties—represents a key technological bottleneck that has been hindering industry development.
The domestic optical polyester film industry is currently still in its early stages, with most companies focusing primarily on the stretching and shaping processes of the films, and lacking systematic research into optical polyester film technology.
It is difficult for China to compete with international giants in areas such as optical polyester film materials (including specialized masterbatches and compounding agents), formulation design, equipment, and process control—factors that are all hindering the development of China’s emerging display industries and related sectors. Third, there is a lack of coordination and synergy in the industry’s overall technological innovation.
BOPA Film Industry
BOPA film is primarily used in packaging applications across industries including food, daily chemicals, pharmaceuticals, electronics, construction, and machinery. Among these, food packaging accounts for 70% to 80% of the market share, mainly for high-temperature steaming, freezing, and snack foods.
In the coming years, China’s flexible packaging and BOPA film markets are expected to continue showing a growth trend, and overseas markets will become another new growth driver.
BOPET Film Industry
Due to its excellent physicochemical properties and environmentally friendly performance, BOPET is hailed as one of the most promising new materials of the 21st century.
China's demand for BOPET polyester film accounts for 33% of the global total demand.
Downstream application industries primarily include packaging materials, electronic information, electrical insulation, card protection, photographic films, thermal transfer foils, solar energy applications, optics, aerospace, construction, and agriculture, among other manufacturing sectors.
Currently, the largest application area for polyester films produced by domestic manufacturers is the packaging industry—such as food and beverage packaging and pharmaceutical packaging. In addition, a portion of specialty functional polyester films is used in high-end fields like electronic components and electrical insulation.
BOPP film industry
BOPP film is famously known as the “Queen of Packaging.” In China, the apparent consumption of BOPP film was 2.51 million tons in 2013 and had reached 3.3 million tons by 2017, representing a 32% increase over five years.
With the continuous rise in China’s consumption levels and the rapid development of downstream industries such as color printing lamination, film coating, aluminum plating, and coating, there is tremendous market potential for BOPP film.
BOPE Film Industry
The BOPE film industry is set to become a hot topic of attention in the film industry, and it boasts the following advantages:
More suitable for large-volume order production needs;
High transparency, high gloss, few crystal points;
High stiffness, high tensile strength;
High puncture resistance;
Excellent low-temperature impact strength, pinhole resistance, abrasion resistance, and exceptionally good low-temperature flexibility;
It has a long wetting tension retention time, excellent printing performance, and precise overprinting.
Replacing blown or cast CPE film with BOPE at half the thickness, when combined with dry lamination using materials such as BOPA or BOPET, can achieve the same heat-sealing strength and a similar degree of stiffness.
Moreover, replacing blown or cast CPE film and BOPA with BOPE film that is half the thickness can significantly reduce bag rupture rates when used in dry-laminated frozen food packaging.
The Second of the Four Major Materials: 3D Printing Materials
Currently, commonly used 3D-printing polymer materials include polyamide, polyester, polycarbonate, polyethylene, polypropylene, and ABS. Although ABS and PLA are the most frequently used materials in the 3D-printing market, nylon actually boasts the largest application scale. It is projected that by 2022, nylon will account for 30% of the 3D-printing materials market share.
The main factors affecting the use of materials in 3D printing include: high printing temperatures and poor material fluidity, which lead to the release of volatile components into the working environment, causing frequent clogging of print nozzles and compromising the precision of the finished products; ordinary materials have relatively low strength and a narrow range of applicability, necessitating reinforcement treatments; uneven cooling results in slow solidification, making the products prone to shrinkage and deformation; and there is a lack of functional and intelligent applications.
Global 3D Printing Market (in billions of U.S. dollars)
Application Domain Analysis
In the industrial sector, large-scale industrial applications are expected to trigger an explosive growth in the global 3D printing market in the future.
In the industrial sector, after 30 years of development, 3D printing has now established a complete industrial chain.
Currently, 3D printing technology has already found certain applications in the military, aerospace, medical, automotive, mechanical equipment manufacturing, and consumer sectors.
3D printing is applied to architecture, structural building components, automotive parts, and industrial components. Each link in the industry chain has attracted a group of leading enterprises.
Development Trends of Materials for 3D Printing in China
With the advancement of 3D printing technology, the performance of traditional materials has been significantly enhanced. Thanks to their powerful rapid melt deposition and low-temperature bonding properties, these materials will be widely adopted in the field of 3D printing manufacturing. In addition to being used directly for 3D-printed products, materials with strong adhesive properties are also essential for 3D printing of glass, ceramics, inorganic powders, metals, and other materials.
By leveraging the enhanced strength of modified materials, metals can be directly replaced in a variety of complex components—resulting in products that are both inexpensive and lightweight. These materials can even substitute for items such as glass and ceramics, thereby enabling their widespread use in 3D manufacturing.
Materials can bypass low-strength defects and evolve toward compositing and functionalization, particularly by achieving multi-material composites that endow materials with specific functionalities. New materials such as smart materials with complex structures, optoelectronic polymers, photothermal polymers, photovoltaic polymers, and energy-storage polymers are being fabricated using 3D printing technology.
Thanks to its advantages—such as eliminating the need for molds and enabling rapid repair of components—3D printing can propel China’s manufacturing industry forward by 5 to 10 years. 3D printing can truly be described as a revolution in the industrial sector.
The Third of the Four Major Materials: Biodegradable Materials
Subdivided Application Fields of Biodegradable Materials (10,000 tons)
By 2020, China’s output of biodegradable materials is expected to reach 2.5 million tons. The 13th Five-Year Plan, international carbon emission regulations, and improvements in the performance and price reductions of biodegradable materials will create unprecedented development opportunities for China’s biodegradable materials industry.
Completely biodegradable materials mainly include PLA, PHA, PBS/PBSA, PCL, PVA, PPE/PPC/PPB, and a small portion of PSM. Biodegradable materials primarily refer to bio-degradable resins modified from conventional polyolefins; most of the PSM falls into this category.
The development of biodegradable materials is increasingly aligned with society’s environmental protection ethos. Currently, dozens of types of biodegradable materials are being researched and developed worldwide; however, only a handful—such as PSM, PLA, PBS/PBSA, PHA, and PCL—have achieved large-scale, industrial production.
Global Demand Forecast for the Three Major Biodegradable Materials, 2015-2020
The Fourth of the Four Major Materials: New Elastomers
Propylene-based elastomer
Propylene-based elastomers are produced by combining metallocene catalysis technology with solution polymerization processes. They are unique propylene-ethylene semi-crystalline copolymers characterized by exceptional high elasticity, flexibility, and low-temperature impact resistance, particularly exhibiting outstanding compatibility with PP.
Currently, only three companies worldwide offer commercial-grade propylene-based elastomers, with the brand names Versify from Dow, Vistamaxx from ExxonMobil, and Tafmer from Mitsui.
Advantages of acrylic elastomers:
Acrylic elastomers boast excellent hand feel, high fillability, and superior anti-slip performance—for example, ExxonMobil’s Vistamaxx offers outstanding foaming advantages.
VM foam products have a good hand feel, excellent density, and also exhibit a sticky sensation.
It features high filler loading, with filler content reaching up to 100 phr, whereas EVA typically has a filler content of around 30 phr. This offers significant advantages in terms of cost reduction and the development of certain functional materials—for example, flame-retardant materials rely on filler loading to achieve their performance.
It is 100% recyclable, and the foamed products do not exhibit poor distribution of surface pores. In contrast, when EVA foam contains too much recycled material (typically around 30 phr), it can lead to uneven density distribution.
Using VM for foam processing at relatively lower hardness levels is much easier to handle than using EVA. If you want to achieve a hardness of 10°C with EVA, it’s quite challenging—and typically requires adding SEBS to increase softness—whereas VM can easily reach that level.
The improved impact resistance offers opportunities for thinner designs, enabling reduced material usage and lower costs.
Acrylic elastomers have a lower melting temperature, which in turn reduces processing temperatures. Their higher melt flow rate accelerates the processing speed. This not only lowers energy consumption but also enhances processing efficiency. The material’s flexibility helps increase the elongation ratio and minimize flow marks, resulting in superior product quality and a reduced defect rate. Moreover, since this elastomer exhibits a lower shrinkage rate than polypropylene, the production process becomes easier to control, die-cutting becomes more precise, and the fit between cups and lids is improved, thereby further reducing the defect rate.
Applications of propylene-based elastomers:
Random copolymer polypropylene (RCP) is widely used in the food preservation container industry; however, a common issue is its insufficient impact resistance at low temperatures. The incorporation of propylene-based elastomers into polypropylene modification can enhance the toughness of polypropylene. When used as a toughening agent in RCP, these elastomers can improve toughness while maintaining the transparency of RCP, thereby helping to reduce stress whitening in hinge structures.
Blending acrylic elastomers with polypropylene (PP) can achieve a better balance of impact resistance, transparency, and rigidity, while also improving processing efficiency.
It can be used in applications such as nonwoven fabrics, elastic films, and polymer modification. Among these, it demonstrates outstanding performance in polymer modification. Specific application examples include washing machine base plates, food container lids, humidifier water tanks, plastic stationery, sports water bottles, slippers, and more.
Vinyl elastomer
Properties and characteristics of vinyl elastomers:
The crystalline regions of polyethylene chains (the resin phase) act as physical crosslinking points and exhibit typical plastic properties. When a certain amount of α-olefin (such as 1-butene, 1-hexene, or 1-octene) is added, the crystalline regions of the polyethylene chains are weakened, giving rise to an amorphous region (the rubber phase) that displays rubber-like elasticity, thereby endowing the product with elastomeric properties as well. POE possesses a combination of both plastic and rubber characteristics, exhibiting outstanding overall performance. Therefore, POE can be regarded as a bridging material between plastics and rubbers.
Compared to EPDM, POE elastomers boast outstanding weld-line strength, excellent dispersibility, high impact resistance when added in equal amounts, and exceptional molding performance. Compared to SBR, they offer superior weather resistance, high transparency, lower price, and lower density. When compared to EVA, EMA, and EEA, POE elastomers exhibit advantages such as lower density, higher transparency, better toughness, and superior flexibility. Compared to soft PVC, POE elastomers have the following benefits: no need for specialized equipment, low corrosivity toward machinery, excellent thermoforming properties, good plasticity, lower density, excellent low-temperature toughness, and excellent cost-effectiveness.
As a plastic toughening agent, POE elastomers not only toughen and modify polyolefin plastics that are compatible with them, but also, through peroxide initiation, can effectively undergo grafting reactions with monomers such as maleic anhydride and glycidyl acrylate. The resulting grafted copolymers are widely used to toughen engineering plastics like nylon and polyester.
The polyolefin elastomer POE has no unsaturated double bonds in its molecular structure and exhibits a very narrow molecular weight distribution as well as short-chain branching (with uniform short-chain distribution). As a result, it possesses outstanding physical and mechanical properties, such as high elasticity, high strength, and high elongation at break, along with excellent low-temperature resistance.
A narrow molecular weight distribution ensures that the material is less prone to flexing during injection and extrusion processing, thereby giving POE materials excellent processability. Due to the saturated structure of the POE macromolecular chains, which contain relatively few tertiary carbon atoms, the material exhibits outstanding resistance to thermal aging and ultraviolet degradation. Moreover, by effectively controlling the introduction of long branches into the linear short-branched architecture of the polymer, the material’s transparency is enhanced while simultaneously improving its processing rheology.
Applications of vinyl elastomers:
POE can pose a threat to materials such as rubber, flexible PVC, EPDM, EPR, EMA, EVA, TPV, SBC, and LDPE.
Applied to various products such as automotive dashboards, flexible conduits, conveyor belts, printing rollers, sports shoes, wires and cables, automotive components, durable goods, extruded parts, molded parts, sealing materials, pipe fittings, and fabric coatings, among others;
It can also serve as a low-temperature impact modifier to enhance the low-temperature impact resistance of PP, and at the same time, it can be used as a thermoplastic elastomer in the automotive industry.
How amazing would vinyl and acrylic elastomers be?
China’s dependence on foreign sources for natural rubber has exceeded 85%.
With over 44 million tons per year of new ethylene capacity under construction, vinyl elastomers represent a promising downstream application.
With over 40 million tons per year of new propylene capacity under construction, there’s a promising downstream opportunity in propylene-based elastomers!
Vinyl and acrylate elastomers—R&D of related technologies is urgently needed!
Fluorosilicone elastomer
Fluorosilicone rubber is formulated primarily from fluorosilicone polymers. The main chain of fluorosilicone polymers contains multiple siloxane groups (-Si-O-). It is non-toxic and resistant to both high and low temperatures, and can be processed into thermoplastic elastomers.
Fluororubber—the “King of Rubbers”: It boasts exceptional chemical stability and is currently the best among all elastomers. It exhibits outstanding high-temperature resistance, superb resistance to atmospheric aging and ozone, excellent vacuum performance, and superior mechanical properties—making it a variety with exceptionally well-rounded performance among elastomers. However, it has several minor drawbacks: for instance, its low-temperature performance is not ideal, and its radiation resistance is also relatively poor.
The Five Key Focus Areas of the New Materials Industry
3
One of the Five Focus Areas: Structured Materials
By leveraging structured materials with tailored material properties and responses, lightweighting can enhance energy efficiency, payload capacity, lifecycle performance, and quality of life.
Future research directions include developing robust methods for decoupling and independently optimizing properties, as well as creating structured multi-material systems.
We don’t want the new material to be understood at the chemical level; rather, we should maximize its use by focusing on its physical properties.
Focus No. 2: Energy Materials
Research development directions include:
Continuously research and develop materials for solar-to-electric energy conversion, such as amorphous silicon, organic photovoltaics, and perovskite materials; explore new luminescent materials; design low-power electronic devices; and develop novel materials for resistive switching to advance the development of neuromorphic computing.
Researchers at Okayama University in Japan have recently developed a new type of solar cell made from iron oxide compounds. This solar cell boasts an light-absorption rate that is more than 100 times higher than that of conventional silicon-based solar cells.
Research directions in catalytic materials:
Theoretical prediction of improved catalytic materials, synthesis of high-performance inorganic core/shell nanoparticles, scalable synthesis strategies for efficient catalysts suitable for industrial production and applications, selective deposition of co-catalysts onto active sites during catalytic reactions, and research on two-dimensional material catalysts.
Focus No. 3: Materials for Extreme Environments
Extreme environment materials are high-performance materials that can operate reliably under a variety of extreme operating conditions.
Research areas include:
Develop next-generation extreme-environment materials based on scientific design—such as improving alloy designs by leveraging an understanding of temperature-related nanoscale deformation mechanisms within materials, and designing new corrosion-resistant materials by harnessing a scientific understanding of corrosion mechanisms.
Understand the performance limits and fundamental degradation mechanisms of materials under extreme conditions.
Focus No. 4: Materials for Carbon Capture and Storage
Materials for carbon capture and storage include: carbon capture based on solvents, adsorbents, and membrane materials; novel carbon-capture materials such as metal-organic frameworks; electrochemical capture; and carbon sequestration via geological materials.
The material challenges in clean water technologies involve interfacial science phenomena in membranes, adsorbents, catalysts, and subsurface geological formations, necessitating the development of new materials, novel characterization methods, and innovative interfacial chemicals.
Materials research in renewable energy storage is based on:
Develop multivalent ion conductors and new battery materials to enhance the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, and research new high-energy-density hydrogen storage materials to enable water-splitting/fuel cell energy systems.
Focus No. 5: Nanomaterials
Nanomaterials are materials in which at least one dimension in three-dimensional space falls within the nanoscale range (1–100 nm) or which are composed of such materials as basic units. This scale roughly corresponds to the size of 10 to 100 atoms closely packed together.
Due to their small size effects, surface effects, quantum size effects, and macroscopic quantum tunneling effects, nanomaterials exhibit properties in magnetism, optics, electricity, and sensing that are not found in conventional materials. Consequently, nanomaterials hold great potential for applications in areas such as magnetic materials, electronic materials, optical materials, sintering of high-density materials, catalysis, sensing, and ceramic toughening.
Two- and three-dimensional nanomaterials—electrode materials and electrochemical energy storage.
Recommendations for the Development of China’s New Materials Industry
Proportion of Chemical Enterprise Types in Europe, the U.S., and China
1 = A diversified chemical enterprise specializing in fine chemicals and new materials
2 = Traditional petrochemical and basic chemical enterprises
3=Other types of enterprises
Currently, China’s traditional petrochemical and basic chemical enterprises are making massive investments at a feverish pace. There are several clusters of investment projects each worth hundreds of billions of yuan, and the number of investment projects worth tens of billions of yuan has become too numerous to count. However, profits are plummeting rapidly, and the market prices of an increasing number of basic chemical products have plunged sharply—for instance, TDI, ethylene glycol, methanol, and MMA. Even products like PC, PMMA, and PA66—still reliant on imports—are no exception.
Therefore, we must pay sufficient attention to the development of the new materials industry; otherwise, the real economy will lack strong competitiveness!
First, industrial consumer enterprises should drive the development of new chemical materials in China; their participation and support are crucial.
Rail transit (high-speed rail, bullet trains, subways)—almost entirely manufactured by CRRC Group;
China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation dominates China’s shipbuilding industry—the world’s top three.
Gree, Midea, Haier, and others are all world-class home appliance giants.
The world’s largest automobile manufacturer;
The world’s largest production base and consumer market for consumer electronics (mobile phones, tablets, and computers);
There are also major daily chemical brands like Lan Yue Liang and Libai.
Second, by deepening our understanding of applications—promote the development of new chemical materials.
Organofluorine materials
Fluorine-containing hydrocarbons
Silicone materials
Excellent properties including high and low temperature resistance, electrical insulation, weather resistance (to light, radiation, and ozone), non-toxicity, flame retardancy, and antioxidant capability.
Engineering, Modified Materials
Industrial materials used as components or casing materials for industrial applications.
High-performance fiber
Carbon fiber, aramid fiber, ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber
Electrochemical materials—materials used in three major product categories: microelectronics, optoelectronics, and novel component technologies—primarily include:
Semiconductor microelectronic materials, exemplified by single-crystal silicon;
Optoelectronic materials, represented by laser crystals;
Electronic ceramic materials, represented by dielectric ceramics and thermistor ceramics;
Magnetic materials, exemplified by neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnet materials;
Optical fiber communication materials;
Data storage materials primarily based on magnetic storage and optical disc storage;
Piezoelectric Crystals and Thin-Film Materials;
Green battery materials, such as hydrogen storage materials and lithium-ion intercalation materials.
Keywords
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High starting point, high investment, high quality
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