pps是分子主链上含有苯硫基的热塑性工程塑料，属聚醚类塑料。它是于1968年在美国进行工业化生产，工业上主要生产方法有溶液聚合法和自缩聚法。
pps的分子结构可看出，它是以苯环和硫原子交替排列构成的线性或略带支链的高聚物，分子链规整体性强，由刚性苯环与柔性硫醚链连接起来的主键具有刚柔相济的特点，因此pps可以结晶，熔点高。
其次，由于苯环与硫原子形成共轭。且硫原子尚未处于饱和，经氧化后可使硫醚键变成亚砜基，或使相邻大分子形成氧桥支化或交联，使得热、氧稳定性十分突出；第三，由于硫原子的极性被苯环共轭及高结晶度的束缚，使pps呈现非极性或弱极性的特点。
因此pps的电绝缘性、介电性、及耐化学介质性也很突出；第四，由于pps与众多聚合物和添加剂有良好的相容性，可以采用多种手段进行改性，以提高其力学性能和其它性能。
PPS is a kind of thermoplastic engineering plastics, which contains phenylene sulfide group on the main chain of molecule. It was produced industrially in the United States in 1968 by solution polymerization and self-condensation. The molecular structure of PPS can be seen that it is a linear or slightly branched polymer consisting of alternating arrangement of benzene ring and sulfur atom, the main bond connected by the rigid benzene ring and the flexible sulfide chain has the characteristics of both rigid and flexible, so pps can be crystallized with high melting point. Secondly, because the benzene ring and sulfur atoms form a conjugate. The sulfides can be oxidized to form sulfoxide groups, or the adjacent macromolecules can be branched or cross-linked to form oxygen bridge, which makes the thermal and oxygen stability very outstanding, because the polarity of sulfur atom is bound by benzene ring conjugation and high crystallinity, PPS shows the characteristics of non-polarity or weak polarity. Therefore, the electrical insulation, dielectric, and chemical resistance of PPS is also very outstanding, fourth, because PPS and many polymers and additives have good compatibility, can be modified by a variety of means, in order to improve its mechanical properties and other properties.