TPX™ (Polymethyl Pentene)

TPX™ has a high melting point in the range from 220℃ to 240℃ and a high Vicat softening temperature. It can therefore be used for high temperature applications. However, as the heat distortion temperature of TPX™ is almost same as that of polypropylene, its application in a high-stress environment needs to be carefully considered.

The surface tension of TPX™ (24mN/m) is very low, and this value is the second lowest compared to fluorine polymers. TPX™ therefore has excellent releasability against various materials. TPX™ is used as a release material in the hardening process of thermosetting resins (urethane, epoxy etc.). Furthermore, since TPX™ shows incompatibility with thermoplastic resins (PET, PP etc.), it is used to create a porous structure in PET or PP membranes.

Although TPX™ is a crystalline polymer, it exhibits excellent transparency (Haze: < 5 % ) and light transmittance. In particular, TPX™ is used for optical analysis cells because of its higher UV transmittance as compared to glass and other transparent polymers.

Because of its stable C-C bonds, TPX™ has better chemical resistance than polycarbonate and acrylic polymer. TPX™ shows excellent chemical resistance, particularly against acids, alkalis and alcohol.
For this reason, TPX™ is used in a range of applications that require chemical resistance, such as cosmetic container caps and tubes, experimental apparatus and analytical cells.

TPX™ has the characteristic of excellent gas permeability derived from its molecular structure. As a result, TPX™ is widely used for gas permeative applications such as gas separation membranes.

Since TPX™ has a non-polar structure, its dielectric property is almost same as fluorine polymers. It should be noted that dielectric property of TPX™ is hardly affected by frequency and TPX™ can be injection molded, unlike PTFE. TPX™ has a stable dielectric property in a broad frequency range.

The density of TPX™ is the lowest (830 kg/m³) among thermoplastic polymers, and its specific volume is larger than that of other transparent polymers. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the weight of injection-molded articles by using TPX™ or TPX™ compounds.

TPX™ has very low water absorbance, and therefore the dimensions of a TPX product are hardly affected by water absorbance. Furthermore, since TPX™ does not hydrolyze in boiling water, it can be used for experimental apparatus and animal cages that require steam sterilization.

Hygienic approved TPX™ grades (JPN standards, FDA regulations and EU regulations) are also available, and they are used for food wraps and microwave oven tableware.

The refractive index of TPX™ is 1.463nD20, lower than fluorine polymers.