Polymers have for too long been a fundamental piece of our everyday lives so much so that examples can be found almost ubiquitously. We have an effect which leads us to believe that polymers are merely plastics utilized for packaging, in household objects and then for making fibres, however this is only the tip in the iceberg.
Polymers are widely-used in all sorts of applications you might not have thought much about. This site enlightens you regarding the story behind polymers and exactly how it’s got evolved since that time to offer several functions across numerous industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have taken benefit from the flexibility of polymers since way back when by means of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it wasn’t before industrial revolution that this polymer industry developed. Actually, the birth of polymer science might be traced time for the mid-nineteenth century. In the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization method that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber in to a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland developed a resin from two quite typical chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between these two chemicals led the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It had been this resin that served as a harbinger to many people in the common polymers that individuals use today. The phrase “polymer” comes from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which put together means “many parts.” Polymeric substances consist of numerous chemical units called monomers, that happen to be gathered into large molecular chains consisting of a large number of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Based on their origin, polymer resin could be regarded as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are those polymers that exist in nature knowning that that happen to be isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are several instances of natural polymers. Though these are processed to get the end product, because the basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are termed as natural polymers. Natural rubber originating from tree latex it’s essentially a polymer produced from isoprene units using a portion of impurities within it.
In this context, biopolymers are also significant. There is certainly large number of biopolymers for example polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally produced by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes method for enormous prospect of the biotechnological output of biopolymers with tailored properties suited to high-value medical application for example tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as his or her name indicates, are synthesized inside the laboratory or factory via a number of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. From the functional perspective they could be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is but one such thermoplastic produced by the polymerization in the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is usually generally known as acrylic plastic and lends its properties into a number of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is used extensively inside the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer products which have a very constituent element of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and others.
Many of the other synthetic polymers that individuals utilization in us include Nylons, found in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, found in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, found in pipes.
Like a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is glad to help you in understanding its properties as a synthetic polymer. To learn more, contact us here.
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