Borosilicate Glass vs. Thermoplastic PI
Borosilicate glass and thermoplastic PI belong to fundamentally different material chemistries. Borosilicate glass is a ceramic material, while thermoplastic PI is polymeric. Therefore, their performance will be even more dissimilar than would be suggested by the difference in properties. There are 9 material properties with values for both materials. Properties with values for just one material (25, in this case) are not shown.
For each property being compared, the top bar is borosilicate glass and the bottom bar is thermoplastic PI.
Metric UnitsUS Customary Units
Material Properties
| Density, g/cm3 | 2.2 to 2.6 | |
| 1.4 to 1.5 |
| Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus, GPa | 67 to 80 | |
| 3.7 to 20 |
| Flexural Strength, MPa | 34 to 69 | |
| 170 to 330 |
| Specific Heat Capacity, J/kg-K | 830 | |
| 970 to 1100 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Axial, points | 15 to 17 | |
| 1.5 to 7.9 |
| Stiffness to Weight: Bending, points | 55 to 61 | |
| 37 to 64 |
| Strength to Weight: Axial, points | 30 to 35 | |
| 22 to 42 |
| Strength to Weight: Bending, points | 36 to 43 | |
| 36 to 57 |
| Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS), MPa | 280 | |
| 110 to 220 |