Polyethylene Terephthalate - Physical Properties

Physical Properties

PET in its natural state is a colorless, semi-crystalline resin. Based on how it is processed, PET can be semi-rigid to rigid, and it is very lightweight. It makes a good gas and fair moisture barrier, as well as a good barrier to alcohol (requires additional "barrier" treatment) and solvents. It is strong and impact-resistant.

About 60% crystallization is the upper limit for commercial products, with the exception of polyester fibers. Besides, about 60% crystalline polymer about 40% of the polymer chains remaining amorphous. Clear products can be produced by rapidly cooling molten polymer below T_g glass transition temperature to form an amorphous solid. Like glass, amorphous PET forms when its molecules are not given enough time to arrange themselves in an orderly, crystalline fashion as the melt is cooled. At room temperature the molecules are frozen in place, but, if enough heat energy is put back into them by heating above T_g, they begin to move again, allowing crystals to nucleate and grow. This procedure is known as solid-state crystallization.

When allowed to cool slowly, the molten polymer forms a more crystalline material. This material has spherulites containing many small crystallites when crystallized from an amorphous solid, rather than forming one large single crystal. Light tends to scatter as it crosses the boundaries between crystallites and the amorphous regions between them. This scattering means that crystalline PET is opaque and white in most cases. Fiber drawing is among the few industrial processes that produce a nearly single-crystal product.