Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) films and sheets

While thermoplastic polyurethane has long been recognized for its high performance, it's only now that we're beginning to glimpse its full potential.

Today's products demand materials with specific characteristics that meet ever more stringent performance criteria, which is why more and more designers are turning to advanced thermoplastics such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). TPU is one of the most versatile of thermoplastic materials, combining a wide range of properties to meet the most demanding applications.

Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) were discovered in the late 1930s as part of German research in the run-up to the Second World War. Since their arrival on the market at the end of the fifties, TPU films and tubes have become known as versatile industrial products. They offer robustness and reliability in extreme conditions, where other materials are unsatisfactory. For example, TPU retains its flexibility even at the low temperatures that make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) brittle.

At the molecular level, TPUs are made up of hydrocarbon chains also containing oxygen and nitrogen. They are characterized by the urethane chemical unit (NHCO ₂ ) (figure 1 ). They are block copolymers characterized by alternating hard and soft phases. The proportion and molecular structure of these segments determine the resin's specific characteristics.

TPU compounds bring together a range of original properties and offer many different combinations of properties, achieved with a minimum of additives. As these properties are specific to their chemical structure, TPUs do not have the problems of brittleness or migration that can affect vinyl...