The key difference between dacron and polyester is that Dacron is a form of polyester, whereas polyester is a polymer material composed of ester groups attached to the main chain.
Dacron is a trade name, and it is a polymer material we can find as a member of the polyester family. Polyester is a polymer material that forms as the result of the reaction between carboxylic acids and alcohols. Depending on the properties, different forms of polyester have different applications.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Dacron
3. What is Polyester
4. Side by Side Comparison – Dacron vs Polyester in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Dacron?
Dacron is the trade name of polyethylene terephthalate in the US. Sometimes, we abbreviate as PET or PETE. It is the most common member of the thermoplastic polymers among polyesters. Also, this polymer material is very useful in the production of fibres for clothing, containers for the storage of food and beverage, production of resins, etc. Dacron polymer material contains units of ethylene terephthalate monomers linked to each other via polymerization. The repeating unit is C10H8O4. Moreover, we can recycle this material easily.
Figure 01: Dacron Reels
Usually, we can categorize dacron as a semicrystalline material. But, it may occur in an amorphous state as well. Therefore, it can exist in both opaque and transparent states. Naturally, it is a colourless material and it can be rigid or semi-rigid depending on the method of production. However, it is very lightweight. Apart from that, this material makes a proper barrier for moisture and solvents. Besides, the most known characteristic feature of dacron is its intrinsic viscosity.
What is Polyester?
Polyester is a common name used to describe long-chain polymers composed of ester groups in the main chain. Polyesters are chemically composed of at least 85% by weight of an ester and a dihydric alcohol and a terephthalic acid. In other words, the reaction between carboxylic acids and alcohols which forms esters cause the formation of a polyester.
Polyesters are formed from the condensation reaction between dicarboxylic acids and alcohols (diols). Polyesters are mainly of two types as saturated polyesters and unsaturated polyesters. Saturated polyesters are composed of saturated backbones. Since they are saturated, these polyesters are less or not reactive. Unsaturated polyesters are composed of vinyl unsaturation. Therefore, these polyester materials are very reactive.
Figure 02: Appearance of a 100% Polyester Material
Polyester fibres are extremely strong and durable. That is, because polyesters are often resistant to chemicals, stretching, shrinking, etc. The most common applications of polyester are in the textile industry, the food industry (for food packaging), etc.
What is the Difference Between Dacron and Polyester?
Dacron is a trade name and it is a polymer material we can find as a member of the polyester family. Therefore, the key difference between dacron and polyester is that Dacron is a form of polyester, whereas polyester is a polymer material composed of ester groups attached to the main chain. Dacron is the trade name of polyethylene terephthalate in the US. It is very useful in the production of fibres for clothing, containers for the storage of food and beverage, production of resins, etc. The most common applications of polyester are in the textile industry, the food industry (for food packaging), etc.
Below infographic provides more comparisons related to the difference between dacron and polyester.
Summary – Dacron vs Polyester
In summary, dacron is a trade name and it is a polymer material we can find as a member of the polyester family. Therefore, the key difference between dacron and polyester is that Dacron is a form of polyester, whereas polyester is a polymer material composed of ester groups attached to the main chain.
Reference:
1. “What Is Dacron?” What Is Dacron?, Blogger, 19 July 2016, Available here.
2. “Polyethylene Terephthalate.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2019, Available here.
3. “Polyester.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Nov. 2019, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Dacron Reels” By Simon A. Eugster – Own work (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “930185” (CC0) via Pixabay