Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys Thermoset polymers are part of every moment of our lives. Modern electronics, including computer chips, cell phones, tablets and laptops, servers, GPS devices, calculators, medical devices, and touch-pad controls, would be impossible without thermosets. Modern home and building construction depends on materials based on thermoset polymer ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys Thermoset polymer systems undergo a transformation, often referred to as “curing”, from a liquid or a soft solid in which the molecules can move around freely (i.e. the uncured material will flow) to a material in which molecules are interconnected to form a network throughout the material (the cured material will not flow, even under ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Blog by Dr. Robert Humphreys Bio-polyamides have been available commercially since the first half of the 20th Century, when Rilsan®11 was first introduced1. Image at left are Rilsan®HT connectors (source: Arkema).  Since then, other partly or fully bio-sourced polyamides have been commercialized for a range of applications. Properties, formulation and applications of ... [Click to Continue...]

Polypropylene (PP) is a  thermoplastic polymer with a relatively high melting point (Tm=165C) and ability to process using injection molding.   The higher melting point of PP allows it to be used for plastic items such as medical products (withstand the heat in an autoclave) and dishwasher safe containers.  Additionally, polypropylene has good fatigue properties enabling use as ... [Click to Continue...]

Guest Post by Dr. Robert Humphreys I don’t buy “organic” foods except on the rare occasion that I can find them at price parity with the “not organic” version. I admit that organic vegetables and fruits tend to be more attractive in appearance, at least on the store shelf. People I know who are devotees swear that they taste better and for them, that is enough to justify paying ... [Click to Continue...]