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What is the Uses and Properties of Polystyrene Mirror Sheet

Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from styrene monomer, which is a clear, amorphous, nonpolar commodity thermoplastic that is easy to process and that can be easily converted into a large number of semi-finished products like foams, films, and sheets. It is one of the largest volume commodity plastic, comprising approximately seven percent of the total thermoplastic market.

PS is a very good electrical insulator, has excellent optical clarity due to the lack of crystallinity, and has good chemical resistance to diluted acids and bases.  However, polystyrene has several limitations. It is attacked by hydrocarbon solvents, has poor oxygen and UV resistance, and is rather brittle, i.e. it has poor impact strength due to the stiffness of the polymer backbone. Furthermore, its upper temperature limit for continual use is rather low due to the lack of crystallinity and its low glass transition temperature of about 100°C. Below its Tg, it has medium to high tensile strength (35 – 55 MPa) but low impact strength (15 – 20 J/m). Despite all these weaknesses, styrene polymers are very attractive large-volume commodity plastics. 

Polystyrene sheet is usually thinner and more brittle than acrylic sheet but often costs quite a bit less than other plastics. It has high transparency (second only to acrylic sheets in light transmittance), Its impact resistance, weather resistance and aging resistance is worse than plexiglass, mechanical properties and thermal processing properties are not as good as plexiglass, hardness is similar as plexiglass acrylic, water absorption and thermal expansion coefficient is less than plexiglass acrylic, but its price is lower than plexiglass acrylic.  

Polystyrene is the material of choice for many applications including food-packaging, disposable consumer plastic goods as well as parts for optical, electronic/electrical, and medical applications.