Technora

Technora is an aramid that is useful for a variety of applications that require high strength or chemical resistance. It is a brand name of the company Teijin. It was also used to suspend the NASA Mars rover Opportunity from its parachute during descent.

Production

Technora is produced by condensation polymerization of terephthaloyl chloride (TCl) with a mixture of p-phenylenediamine (PPD) and 3,4'-diaminodiphenylether (3,4'-ODA).^[1] The polymer is closely related to Teijin's Twaron or DuPont's Kevlar. Technora is derived from two different diamines, 3,4'-ODA and PPD, whereas Twaron is derived from PPD alone. This relatively simple process uses only one amide solvent, and therefore spinning can be done directly after the polymer production.

Major industrial uses

• Automotive and other industries:
  • Turbo hoses
  • high pressure hoses
  • Timing and V-belts
  • mechanical rubber goods reinforcement
• Linear tension
  • Optical fiber cables (OFC)
  • Ram air parachute suspension lines
  • ropes, wire ropes and cables
  • Umbilical cables
  • Electrical mechanical cable (EMC)
  • Windsurfing sails
  • Hangglider sails
• Drumheads

See also

• Vectran

References

1. Stephanie Kwolek, Hiroshi Mera, Tadahiko Takata “High-Performance Fibers” in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2002, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a13_001