Technora


Technora is an aramid that is useful for a variety of applications that require high strength or chemical resistance. It is a brand name of the company Teijin Aramid. It was also used to suspend the NASA Mars rover Opportunity from its parachute during descent. It will be used again in the parachute for the Mars 2020 rover.

Production

Technora is produced by condensation polymerization of terephthaloyl chloride with a mixture of p-phenylenediamine and 3,4'-diaminodiphenylether. The polymer is closely related to Teijin Aramids's Twaron or DuPont's Kevlar. Technora is derived from two different diamines, 3,4'-ODA and PPD, whereas Twaron is derived from PPD alone. This relatively simple process uses only one amide solvent, and therefore spinning can be done directly after the polymer production.

Major industrial uses