What is the Difference Between Polystyrene and High Impact Polystyrene

The key difference between polystyrene and high impact polystyrene is that polystyrene generally has comparatively low impact strength, whereas high impact polystyrene has a very high impact strength

Polystyrene is a polymer material that is available in two forms: solid form or foam. It has many applications. High impact polystyrene is a type of polystyrene having a very high impact strength compared to general polystyrene material.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Polystyrene
3. What is High Impact Polystyrene 
4. Polystyrene vs High Impact Polystyrene in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Polystyrene vs High Impact Polystyrene 

What is Polystyrene?

Polystyrene is a synthetic and aromatic hydrocarbon polymer we can produce from the monomer styrene. It is available in two forms as solid forms or foams. This material is clear, hard, and rather brittle. Moreover, it is inexpensive when considering a unit weight. However, it is a poor barrier to oxygen and water vapor.

This polymer has a comparatively low melting point. It is transparent, and we can color this resin with colorants. It is a thermoplastic polymer. At room temperature, it is in a solid-state. But if we heat this polymer above 100 °C, the material flows. Therefore, it is the glass transition temperature of this material. However, it becomes rigid when we cool it back.

The biodegradation of this polymer is very slow. Since it is common as a liter in the environment, we should reduce the use of polystyrene. The chemical formula of this compound is (C8H8)n, and the melting point is 240 °C. When considering the chemical structure of this material, it has a long chain hydrocarbon with an alternating pattern of phenyl groups attached to the carbon chain.

What is High Impact Polystyrene?

High impact polystyrene is a low cost, tough plastic material that easily undergoes thermoforming and fabrication. This material is useful for the manufacture of point-of-purchase displays, printed graphics, thermoformed machine housings and parts, models and prototypes, kiosks, fixtures, shelves, etc.

Specifically, the high impact polystyrene has a very high impact strength,  good machinability, and outstanding thermoforming characteristics. It is easy to glue, paint and print, etc.

We can define high impact polystyrene as a rubber-modified version of general-purpose polystyrene. This addition of some rubber makes this material additionally durable, and it gives the material a high impact resistance. Similar to all the thermoplastic materials, this material can also become soft and pliable upon heating, followed by re-solidifying upon cooling.

High impact polystyrene is cost-effective similar to ABS material. Therefore, it has applications in industries including the food industry and automobile industry. This material can act as an insulator, and it is easy to fabricate as well. In addition, it is durable than stainless steel and are FDA approved.

What is the Difference Between Polystyrene and High Impact Polystyrene?

Polystyrene is a synthetic and aromatic hydrocarbon polymer that we can produce from the monomer styrene. High impact polystyrene is a low cost, tough plastic material that easily undergoes thermoforming and fabrication. The key difference between polystyrene and high impact polystyrene is that polystyrene generally has comparatively low impact strength, whereas high impact polystyrene has very high impact strength.

The below infographic lists the differences between polystyrene and high impact polystyrene in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Polystyrene vs High Impact Polystyrene

Polystyrene is a synthetic and aromatic hydrocarbon polymer we can produce from the monomer styrene. High impact polystyrene is a low cost, tough plastic material that easily undergoes thermoforming and fabrication. The key difference between polystyrene and high impact polystyrene is that polystyrene generally has comparatively low impact strength, whereas high impact polystyrene has very high impact strength.

Reference:

1. “High Impact Polystyrene.” Curbell Plastics.

Image Courtesy:

1. “High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS)” By CORE-Materials  (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Expanded polystyrene foam dunnage” By User:Acdx – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia