


While thermoplastics are like water, they can transition between ice and water with the application or removal of heat (reversible process).

On the other hand, thermoset polymers form a crosslinked structure during the curing process, preventing them from being melted and remoulded.Īs an analogy, think of thermosets like concrete, once they have set, they can never go back to the liquid form (irreversible process). Therefore, the curing process is reversible, which means that they can be remoulded and recycled. When heated to their melting point, thermoplastics soften into a liquid form. The main physical difference is how they respond to high temperatures. The terms thermoplastic and thermoset stand for how a material is or can be processed under a changed temperature. Thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers are types of plastic that undergo different production processes and yield a variety of properties depending on the constituent materials and production method.
