LANXESS, a leading specialty chemicals company, has developed a new polyester material based on polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Pocan TP 555-001, which is perfectly suitable for manufacturing housings, sockets and other components for light-emitting diodes (LED). What makes the product unique is its excellent light reflection, which hardly declines at all over time, and its high heat stability. Dr. Matthias Bienmüller, head of Pocan Product Development at LANXESS, explains that this high-tech material represents a new, growing material family that is the response to the global trend in LED light sources. It is designed as an economical alternative to specialty polyamides, materials frequently used to make components such as LED housings thanks to their high melting point.

Pocan TP 555-001 displays outstanding heat stability for polyester in its material class. With its high melting point of roughly 260 °C, the material can withstand the temperatures prevailing during vapor phase soldering with lead-free solder. This is one of the methods used in LED manufacturing to solder electronic components.

It is possible to produce thin-walled, intricately designed components with the high flowability of its melt. Compared to high-melting specialty polyamides, it can be injection molded at 50 to 60 °C lower temperatures. "This reduces the processor's energy consumption, which adds to the high cost efficiency of innovative material," Immel says.