LEONA™ PFAS-free,Flame-Retardant Polyamide Resin Featuring Low Water Absorption and High Toughness (Under Development)

Our LEONA™ PFAS-free, low water absorption, highly toughness flame retardance polyamide (under development) is a next-generation unreinforced Flame retardance polyamide that combines high functionality with compliance with environmental regulations and can contribute to a wide range of applications.

Key Features

Key features of LEONA™ PFAS-free, low water absorption, highly toughness flame retardance polyamide(under development) grades include the following.

①    High toughness

Non-reinforced, flame-retardant resins tend to incorporate large quantities of flame-retardant substances, degrading their toughness. For products with parts that deform during the assembly process—such as hinges or snap-fit^* junctions commonly used to make connectors or clamps—this reduction in toughness can result in products incapable of withstanding deformations without rupture.

*Snap-fit is a mechanical joining technique for mating metallic or plastic components that exploits material elasticity to yield junctions when components are pressed together.

LEONA™ under development grade exhibit superior toughness, boasting durability more than 10 times greater than that of conventional, non-reinforced, flame-retardant polyamides in tests featuring repeated bending, as shown in this video.

②   Low water absorption and minimal dimensional variation

Conventional polyamides gradually absorb water from the surrounding atmosphere, causing variations in product dimensions. For maritime shipping and other applications featuring warm, humid operating environments, the amount of water absorbed increases and large variations in component dimensions tend to cause failures in product assembly. One material commonly selected to reduce water-absorption-induced dimensional variation is polybutylene terephthalate (PBT); however, PBT offers lower toughness than polyamides, and PBT components tend to break during product assembly. PBT is also susceptible to hydrolysis in warm, humid environments, significantly degrading strength compared to polyamides.

LEONA™ under development grade exhibits a water-absorption rate approximately one-half that of conventional, non-reinforced, flame-retardant polyamides, and also boasts excellent toughness and hydrolysis resistance compared to PBT. These advantages make this new material a candidate for components demanding high dimensional precision—an application for which polyamides and PBT have traditionally been difficult to use.

The figure below compares dimensional variation due to water absorption—in an application involving maritime shipping near the equator——for LEONA™ under development grades and for conventional, non-reinforced, flame-retardant materials. We have also confirmed the superiority of this new resin relative to conventional polyamides in an even more severe operating environment: 85°C with 85% relative humidity.

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