Identification of plastics (1): thermoplastics and thermo-setting plastics

Principle
Generally, plastics can be divided into two classes: thermoplastics and thermosets or duroplastics (and elastomers), which show a different behaviour due to their different molecular structures especially when heated. Because of the threadlike structure of thermoplastics (which can be "frozen" when heated and afterwards quenched), they show a "memory-effect" when re-heated and they take their original shape again. The behaviour of duroplastics and thermoplastics when heated is examined uin this experiment.

Learning objectives

•  Detection methods for thermoplastics and duroplastics

Benefits

• Easy teaching and efficient learning by using interactive experimentation PHYWE-Software
• Experiment is part of a complete solution set with experiments for the topic Chemistry of Polymers matched with international curriculum: all topics are covered