Vespel
Vespel is the trademark of a range of durable high-performance polyimide-based plastics made by DuPont. The one shown in the structure on the right was the first to be commercialized. Characteristics and applications Vespel is mostly used in aerospace, semiconductor, and transportation technology. It combines heat resistance, lubricity, dimensional stability, chemical resistance, and creep resistance, and can be used in hostile and extreme environmental conditions. Unlike most plastics, it does not produce significant outgassing even at high temperatures, which makes it useful for lightweight heat shields and crucible support. It also performs well in vacuum applications, down to extremely low cryogenic temperatures. However, Vespel tends to absorb a small amount of water, resulting in longer pump time while placed in a vacuum. Although there are polymers surpassing polyimide in each of these properties, the combination of them is the main advantage of Vespel. Thermophysical properties Vespel is commonly used as a thermal conductivity reference material for testing thermal insulators, because of high reproducibility and consistency of its thermophysical properties. For example, it can withstand repeated heating up to 300 °C without altering its thermal and mechanical properties. Extensive tables of measured thermal diffusivity, specific heat capacity, and derived density, all