Company technical data: PEEK has outstanding hydrolysis resistance
1. PEEK has the best resistance to hot water and steam among all engineering plastics. PEEK polymer and its composite products (i.e., modified by glass fiber, carbon fiber, graphite, PTFE, etc.) can resist chemical damage caused by water or high-pressure steam, can be used continuously under hot water and high-pressure steam conditions, and still maintain good mechanical properties.
2. PEEK’s good hydrolysis resistance enables PEEK and its composite products to withstand repeated high-temperature and high-pressure steam sterilization, which other thermoplastics cannot withstand for a long time, so it has been successfully used in harsh areas such as medical equipment.
3. Mechanical properties change test data of PEEK and its composite materials under 200℃ and 1.4MPa steam conditions:
| Mechanical indicators | Test Standards | index
Require |
Measurement result time (hours) | |||||
| 75 | 350 | 1000 | 2000 | 2500 | ||||
| Tensile Strength
(MPa) |
PEEK5600G | ISO527 | 92 | 95 | 97 | 97 | 97 | 97 |
| PEEK5600GF30 | 134 | 98 | 93 | 90 | 92 | 89 | ||
| Bending Strength
(MPa) |
PEEK5600G | ISO178 | 142 | 162 | 165 | 159 | 169 | 156 |
| PEEK5600GF30 | 216 | 177 | 164 | 167 | 167 | 166 | ||
| Flexural modulus
(GPa) |
PEEK5600G | ISO178 | 3.7 | 4 | 4 | 3.8 | 4 | 3.6 |
| PEEK5600GF30 | 9.8 | 9.1 | 8.3 | 9 | 8.9 | 8.7 | ||
| Elongation at break
(%) |
PEEK5600G | ISO527 | 40 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 9 |
| PEEK5600GF30 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | ||
4. Tests show that PEEK polymer and its composite materials can be used continuously for a long time in high-temperature and high-pressure steam, and the mechanical properties remain basically unchanged. On the contrary, the mechanical properties will improve during the initial working period. This is mainly because the stress of PEEK parts is released during the injection molding process, and as the temperature of PEEK parts increases, it is equivalent to heat treatment of PEEK parts, which further improves the crystallinity.
