What is TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer)?

Thermoplastic elastomers are defined in the ASTM D1566 standard as "a group of rubber-like materials that, unlike vulcanized conventional rubber materials, can be processed and recycled like thermoplastic materials." Thermoplastic Elastomers do not require curing or vulcanization during processing and can be processed with traditional thermoplastic techniques such as injection molding, extrusion, and blow molding.

What is a Polymer?

It is necessary to explain some basic points before providing detailed information about Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPE).

A polymer is a large molecule made of repeating small and simple chemical units. They are classified as follows according to their formation ability. TPEs (thermoplastic elastomers) belong to the elastomer class.

Position of TPEs in Polymeric Materials Group

There was a clear distinction between rubber and plastics before TPEs were introduced. Rubbers are soft, flexible, and elastic, whereas plastics are known to be hard and rigid. TPE materials can be processed and recycled like thermoplastics but they have similar properties and performance to thermoset rubber materials. The best way to classify TPEs in polymeric materials is to evaluate them in terms of hardness (Figure 2).