Polypropylene (PP) denotes a group of thermoplastically weldable plastics characterised by high hardness, rigidity and heat resistance. PP is a relatively young plastic: it was first synthesised and produced industrially in 1954 by the scientist Giulio Natta in Italy.
Its synthesis is based on Ziegler-Natta polymerisation. Like low-pressure polyethylene, PP is a thermoplastic with high stability and chemical resistance, but considerably harder and more heat-resistant – it can be heated to up to 140 °C for short periods. PP is also very light and absorbs practically no moisture.
In everyday life you will mostly encounter PP outside of underwear: in packaging, housings of electrical appliances, coffee makers and kettles, car components, bottles and films. As a textile fibre, polypropylene is used above all in functional and sportswear thanks to its low weight and moisture-repellent properties.
You can find more fibres in the overview of synthetic man-made fibres.
