Applications for thermotropic liquid crystal polymer blends,

Abstract Thermotropic liquid crystal polymers (TLCPs) are being widely investigated for their potential as “blend additives” in the 5 to 30% composition range for thermoplastic resins. Motivation for this activity stems from the desire to impart some of the remarkable qualities of TLCPs to the host resin, including enhanced processing and self reinforcement. The barriers inhibiting this technology include high TLCP resin costs, absence of specialized processing equipment, and blend brittleness. These and other barriers are expected to decline as the technology evolves. In the meantime, TLCP blends are expected to find usage in high value added niche applications, where current barriers are not controlling and where their prices can be justified on the basis of performance. The market potential for several TLCP/thermoplastic polymer blends in film and fiber applications are explored. Film and fiber blends are believed to have high potential for near term technical and commercial success. The incentives for development appear to lie primarily with host resin suppliers and device fabricators, and not with TLCP suppliers. The former are expected to benefit from improved consumption and sales resulting from improved resin system and device performance.