Solvay Rolls Out New PEEK Products

Solvay Specialty Polymers has introduced new super-fine powder (SFP) and ultra-fine powder (UFP) grades of KetaSpire polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for water-borne coatings, powder coatings and resin pre-impregnation of continuous fiber composites.

According to the company, the new powders provide strength, durability and chemical resistance for demanding applications in chemical processing, oil and gas, aerospace, semiconductor, healthcare, transportation, and other industrial uses.

“Since PEEK is a semi-crystalline resin and is very difficult to dissolve in common solvents, the application of coatings from solution is not a viable process option,” explained Jamal El-Hibri, principal scientist for Solvay Specialty Polymers in Alpharetta, Ga.

As a result, the most useful techniques for PEEK in coating applications are the use of water-borne media in which the PEEK powder is in suspension or the use of airborne coating processes using techniques such as fluidized beds or electrostatic powder spray guns. For all these techniques, fine particle size is required to achieve a uniform high-quality coating with good structural integrity. Solvay’s KetaSpire SFP grades have a nominal median particle size of 30 microns while UFP grades provide the finest possible particle size with a nominal median particle size of 10 microns.

In addition to coatings, another major application area for KetaSpire SFP and UFP powders is the solvent-less pre-impregnation of continuous carbon fiber and other continuous fiber reinforcements, with PEEK resin as a thermoplastic matrix. This is achieved through an electrostatic powder coating process and the finest possible particle size allows for good coating, even distribution and uniform melting of the PEEK resin around the reinforcement.