PERSPECTIVES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE POLYMERS

Research on high-temperature organic polymers was initiated in the late 1950s primarily to meet the needs of the aerospace and electronics industry. Since then, many different heat-resistant polymer systems have been reported, of which several are now commercially available. These polymers are used in many diverse applications such as circuitry in microelectronic components, coatings on cookware, binders in brake systems, sealants for fuel tanks in high-speed aircraft, gears in copying machines, structural components in high-speed aircraft, and space vehicles, films and wire coatings for electrical insulation. Worldwide use for high-temperature polymers in 1988 was estimated at 90 million kilograms with a value fo $2.3 billion. This market is expected to double by the end of this decade. The major polymer classes discussed in the present paper are polyimides and poly(aryl ethers).