<P> One important classification of plastics is by the permanence or impermanence of their form, or whether they are: thermoplastics or thermosetting polymers . Thermoplastics are the plastics that, when heated, do not undergo chemical change in their composition and so can be molded again and again . Examples include: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Common thermoplastics range from 20,000 to 500,000 amu, while thermosets are assumed to have infinite molecular weight . </P> <P> Thermosets, or thermosetting polymers, can melt and take shape only once: after they have solidified, they stay solid . In the thermosetting process, a chemical reaction occurs that is irreversible . The vulcanization of rubber is an example of a thermosetting process: before heating with sulfur, the polyisoprene is a tacky, slightly runny material; after vulcanization, the product is rigid and non-tacky . </P> <P> Many plastics are completely amorphous, such as: all thermosets; polystyrene and its copolymers; and poly methyl methacrylate . </P> <P> However, some plastics are partially crystalline and partially amorphous in molecular structure, giving them both a melting point, the temperature at which the attractive intermolecular forces are overcome, and also one or more glass transitions, the temperatures above which the extent of localized molecular flexibility is substantially increased . These so - called semi-crystalline plastics include: polyethylene, polypropylene, poly vinyl chloride, polyamides (nylons), polyesters and some polyurethanes . </P>

Different type of plastic materials properties and uses