Polymers have for long been a fundamental piece of our everyday lives so much so that examples can be found almost ubiquitously. We have the feeling which leads us to trust that polymers are merely plastics employed for packaging, in household objects and for making fibres, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Polymers are utilized in many applications you may not have thought much about. This blog enlightens you in regards to the story behind polymers and the way they have evolved from the time to serve several functions across numerous industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have advantage of the versatility of polymers for years and years by means of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it had not been before industrial revolution that the polymer industry began to develop. In fact, the birth of polymer science might be traced time for the mid-nineteenth century. From the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization method that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber in a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland created a resin from two quite typical chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The response between these two chemicals led the way to add mass to a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It turned out this resin that served as being a harbinger to many of the common polymers that individuals use today. The word “polymer” comes from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which assembled means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are comprised of numerous chemical units called monomers, which are gathered into large molecular chains made up of 1000s of atoms.
Classification of polymers
On such basis as their origin, pmma thermoplastic might be classified as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the type polymers that occur in nature and that which are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are a couple of instances of natural polymers. Though they’re processed to have the result, because the basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are termed as natural polymers. Natural rubber originating from tree latex is actually a polymer produced from isoprene units with a small percentage of impurities inside it.
Within this context, biopolymers are also significant. There is huge variety of biopolymers such as polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They may be naturally manufactured by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes way for enormous possibility of the biotechnological production of biopolymers with tailored properties ideal for high-value medical application such as tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, his or her name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory via a group of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. In the functional viewpoint they can be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is but one such thermoplastic manufactured by the polymerization of the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is commonly known as acrylic plastic and lends its properties to some variety of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is used extensively within the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer products that have a very constituent element of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and the like.
A few of the other synthetic polymers that individuals use within our everyday life include Nylons, utilized in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, utilized in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, utilized in pipes.
As a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is pleased to help you out understand its properties as being a synthetic polymer. To understand more, contact us here.
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