High Performance,

High Temperature Coatings

C
John Robinson oatings that fall under the “high-performance” category have been around for
Victrex Polymer Solutions many years and generally fall into two groups: thermosets and thermoplas-
Conshohocken, Pa. tics. Ceramics and sol gels are another group of high-performance coating
products but are outside of the scope of this article. Products offering the broadest and
highest performance usually are from the thermoplastic family of polymers.
PEEK-based
coatings were Differences Between Thermoset and Thermoplastic Coatings
developed to fill Thermoset and thermoplastic coatings differ in that thermosets undergo an irre-
versible chemical and physical change when cured, and cannot be softened or remelted.
the performance Thermoplastics, by comparison, soften and eventually melt when heated and solidify
gap in found in on cooling. They can be remelted when sufficient heat is reapplied. Typical thermoset
many existing products include epoxies, polyester-epoxies, acrylics, FBEs (fusion-bonded epoxies),
coating te and phenolics. Typical thermoplastic products include polyethylene, polyamide
chnologies today (nylon), PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), PFA (perfluoroalkoxy copolymer), and PEEK
(polyether ether ketone).
for use in When looking at the operating temperatures of coating products, there is a big dif-
demanding ference between the continuous use temperature (CUT) of the different products
applications within both the thermoset and thermoplastic coating groups. These products vary in
operating in continuous use temperature from <60°C to 260°C (<140 to 500°F). Some of the more
exotic, expensive thermoplastic materials have even higher continuous use tempera-
extreme
ture, but because they are difficult to process compared with the more readily available
conditions. thermoplastics, they are not discussed in this article.

Temperature Limitations of Thermoset Coatings

Thermoset coatings tend to be used as thin-film decorative products in many ap-
plications that do not have high temperature requirements. Some thermosets, such as
epoxy coatings, find their way into many industrial applications. While they have good
chemical resistance, they can be brittle in nature and are temperature limited. The
higher performing fusion-bonded epoxies can oper-
ate at higher temperatures, but are still limited with
regard to temperature compared with the higher-
performing thermoplastic products.

Thermoplastic Coatings Offer

High Temperature Resistance
Thermoplastic coating products that fall into the
high performance sector (Fig. 1) and have high tem-
perature resistance include PPS (polyphenylene sul-
fide), PTFE, PFA and PEEK. In the past, when
engineers considered options for a high performance
thermoplastic coating, the default options in many
cases were PTFE and PFA. PPS was used mainly as
an adhesion-promoting additive within liquid coat-
ing formulations. The high temperature fluoropoly-
mer products have been available for decades with
nothing new to challenge their position.

New Designs Demand

Higher Operating Temperatures
PEEK-based coatings are used in tough environments such as encountered by As engineers develop new product designs for
this oven conveyor belt. various industries, the trend is to design parts hav-

28 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • SEPTEMBER 2010

 PAI PEEK

Temperature
High –performance
coating resins
PFA
Fusion- PTFE
bonded
epoxies PPS

ing tighter tolerances and reduced weight,

and parts that run faster and hotter and Engineering FEP ECTFE
perform in more aggressive environments. coating resins Phenolic Epoxy Polyamide
Automotive, aerospace, oil and gas and
Commodity
high-specification electrical products are PVC
coating
typical applications, with a diverse array of resins Polyester Acrylic Polyethylene
other industrial applications falling into Polypropylene
this same area. Typical thermoset Typical thermoplastic and
Service temperatures tend to move coating resins fluoropolymer coating resins
steadily higher with each new version of
part design, and now, many of the coatings Fig. 1 — High-performance coating resins relative to temperature performance.
in previous designs are at their temperature
limit and will not operate at the higher tempera-
tures demanded by the latest design brief. This is 12
where the choice of the correct high-temperature 10
coating product is crucial if long term reliability
and performance is to be realized. 8
Time, min

Alternative to Established 6
High-End Coatings
More recently, PEEK has been seen as an alter- 4
native to the established high-end coatings. It has
2
been used in applications where high temperature
performance, combined with chemical and wear 0
resistance, are key engineering requirements. It is Vicote PFA FEP ETFE PPS PVDF ECTFE
PEEK
this unique combination of properties that sets coating
PEEK apart from the other high performance coat- Fig. 2 — Comparison of coating resin performance in reciprocating sliding-wear
ing products. No other polymer offers as broad a tests. Test measures time to wear through 25 mm under a 25 kg load. Test in
range of properties. accordance with ASTM G133.
Most applications for high-performance ther-
moplastics require one or more of the following 60
properties: continuous high temperature perform- 3
Time to wear through

50
ance; chemical resistance; and wear, abrasion, and
Weight loss in 24 h, g

2.5
erosion resistance. In some instances, radiation re-
25 mm, min

40
sistance is a key requirement. PEEK fulfils all these 2
requirements with the added benefit of low smoke 30
1.5
toxicity compared with fluoropolymers and many
20
other thermoplastic materials. 1
10 0.5
Choosing a High Performance Coating
Certain performance criteria have to be met 0 0
Vicote PTFE Vicote Epoxy PTFE
when looking at the options for a high-perform-
PEEK PEEK
ance coating. If chemical resistance and/or non-
stick performance are the only requirements, then Fig. 3 — Comparison of Fig. 4 — Comparison of slurry-abrasion
reinforced PTFE low friction, test performance of Vicote PEEK
one of the fluoropolymers will no doubt work well. high wear-resistant coating vs. coating vs. epoxy and PTFE coatings
If there is a high temperature requirement as well low friction, high wear-resistant (Bodycote internal test for slurry
as chemical resistance, then a high-temperature Vicote PEEK coating at 250°C abrasion).
fluoropolymer such as PFA or PTFE may meet the (480°F) and 250 N load.
requirements as long as there is no wear, abrasion If there is wear, abrasion, or erosion (Figs. 2, 3,
or mechanical damage envisioned. A PPS or PEEK and 4), or the coating is subjected to mechanical
product may also be applicable. damage in combination with high temperature and

ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • SEPTEMBER 2010 29

 bromine, and fluorine.
PEEK-based coatings have been used
in aggressive environments, such as in oil
and gas applications, mold tool coatings,
replacing silver platings on needle roller
bearing cages, industrial rollers, and even
coatings on high-end rice cookers and
cookware.

Conclusion
PEEK-based coatings were developed
to fill the performance gap found in
Fig. 5 — PEEK coatings are used in various high temperature applications such as
this oven rack and rice cooker. many of today’s existing coating tech-
nologies. They are the best solution for
chemical or corrosion resistance, the choices become more demanding applications operating in extreme conditions
limited. This is where a PEEK-based coating offers a real that require a broad combination of properties. This unique
value proposition and is, in many cases, the only solution to combination of properties can help processors and end
solve an end user’s problem. users reach new levels of cost savings, performance and
product differentiation.
PEEK-Based Coatings Performance
PEEK-based coatings have a high continuous use tem- For more information: John Robinson, Coatings Technology
perature of 260°C (500°F) and have a Tg (glass transition Leader , Victrex Polymer Solutions, division of Victrex plc; 300
temperature) of 143 to 157°C (288 to 313°F) depending on Conshohocken State Rd., Suite 120, West Conshohocken, PA
the type of PEEK. The chemical resistance of PEEK is sec- 19428; tel: 484-342-6001; fax: 484-342-6002, e-mail: amerias@
ond only to fluoropolymers and usually is only affected by victrex.com, or www.victrex.com.
concentrated oxidizing acids or halogens such as chlorine, Vicote PEEK is a registered trademark of Victrex.

www.asminternational.org

www.asminternational.org

30 ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES • SEPTEMBER 2010