Thanks to their chemical structure, plastics are capable of resisting the effects of the atmosphere, of water and many other chemicals which corrode metals. For this reason, they are also employed as a corrosion protection coating for metals and are referred to as chemically resistant.

Although certain common features are applicable to the various groups of plastics, each individual plastic has its own distinct chemical characteristics. Closely related plastics can react to the same chemical substance in completely different ways with regard to the same chemical substance at different temperatures or different degrees of concentraion. Additives can also have an effect on the behaviour of the plastic with regard to chemicals.

In the full research paper we outline the general characteristics of Polypropylene, Polyethylene and uPVC. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a flexible plastic while uPVC is rigid and it is this type of PVC we explore in greater depths.

Read the full research paper here.

To see a list of how each of these plastics react to over 300 different chemicals please refer to our Chemical Resistance Tables.