Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

What is polyvinyl chloride (PVC)?

The polymer of vinyl chloride as a monomer is an amorphous, solid, rigid and hard thermoplastic. PVC can be produced using different manufacturing processes; a distinction is made between emulsion polymerization (E-PVC), suspension polymerization (S-PVC) and mass polymerization (M-PVC). S- and M-PVC are considered to be of higher quality.

PVC can also be divided into hard and soft PVC, depending on its composition and manufacturing process. PVC can therefore encompass a wide range of properties that cannot be listed here in a generalized way.

PVC is rather brittle with a relatively high density of 1.40 g/cm³. It is flame retardant and self-extinguishing.

PVC has poor ageing resistance as it is particularly susceptible to heat and UV radiation. However, PVC is very resistant to many chemicals, especially apolar ones. PVC can swell or even dissolve in polar solvents.

Service temperature:

Soft PVC: – 50 to +60 °C
Hard PVC: – 25 to +80 °C

PVC is best known for its use in PVC flooring. However, PVC is also used in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, packaging, automotive, agriculture and the toy industry.