What is the Difference Between Elastomer and Plastomer?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The main difference between elastomers and plastomers lies in their properties and applications. Elastomers exhibit elasticity, while plastomers combine the qualities of both elastomers and plastics, exhibiting both elasticity and plasticity. Here are some key differences between the two:
- Elasticity: Elastomers are known for their ability to return to their original shape after being stretched or deformed, making them suitable for applications requiring flexibility. Plastomers, on the other hand, possess both elastic and plastic behavior, allowing them to be used in a wider range of applications.
- Applications: Elastomers are used when flexibility is required, such as in rubber products, seals, and gaskets. Plastomers, with their combination of elastic and plastic properties, are used when both flexibility and toughness are required, making them suitable for applications like flexible packaging, molded and extruded products, and elastomeric foam compounds.
- Examples: Some important plastomers include ethylene-alpha olefin copolymers. Examples of elastomers include natural rubber, silicone rubber, and thermoplastic elastomers.
In summary, elastomers are polymers that exhibit elasticity and are used in applications requiring flexibility, while plastomers are polymers that combine elastic and plastic properties, making them suitable for a broader range of applications that require both flexibility and toughness.
Comparative Table: Elastomer vs Plastomer
The main difference between elastomers and plastomers is that elastomers exhibit elasticity, while plastomers display both plasticity and elasticity. Here is a comparison table highlighting the differences between elastomers and plastomers:
| Property | Elastomers | Plastomers |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Elastomers are polymers with the major characteristic feature of elasticity. | Plastomers are polymers with combined properties of elastomers and plastics, exhibiting both elastic and plastic behavior. |
| Structure | Elastomers are usually amorphous polymers with no ordered structure. | Plastomers have rubber-like properties and can be processed into plastics. |
| Van der Waals Forces | Elastomers have weak Van der Waals forces between polymer chains, giving them flexibility. | Plastomers have a combination of weak and strong Van der Waals forces between polymer chains, providing both flexibility and strength. |
| Applications | Elastomers are used when flexibility is required. | Plastomers are used when both flexibility and toughness are required. |
Some important plastomers include ethylene-alpha olefin copolymers, which are useful as polymer modifiers to provide unique properties in flexible packaging, molded and extruded products, wire and cable, and foaming compounds.
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