Polymers have for long been a fundamental portion of our everyday lives so much so that examples are available almost ubiquitously. We generally the feeling leading us to imagine that polymers are merely plastics utilized for packaging, in household objects and for making fibres, but this is simply the tip of the iceberg.
Polymers are used in all sorts of applications you might not have thought much about. This web site enlightens you regarding the story behind polymers and just how it’s got evolved from the time to provide several functions across a number of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have taken benefit of the versatility of polymers for years and years as 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 could 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 right into a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland created resin from two quite normal chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between both of these chemicals paved the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It was this resin that served like a harbinger to many people of the common polymers we use today. The term “polymer” is derived from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which put together means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are comprised of many chemical units called monomers, that are joined together into large molecular chains composed of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Judging by their origin, methyl methacrylate resin could be regarded as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the ones polymers that happen in nature understanding that that are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are a couple of types of natural polymers. Though they are processed to find the end result, since the basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are referred to as natural polymers. Natural rubber originating from tree latex is essentially a polymer produced from isoprene units with a small percentage of impurities inside.
Within this context, biopolymers can also be significant. There’s vast number of biopolymers including polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They may be naturally produced by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes opportinity for enormous possibility of the biotechnological manufacture of biopolymers with tailored properties suited to high-value medical application including tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, for their name indicates, are synthesized in the laboratory or factory by having 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 a such thermoplastic produced by the polymerization of the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is usually referred to as acrylic plastic and lends its properties with a selection of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is used extensively in the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer products that have a constituent part of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and the like.
Some of the other synthetic polymers we use in our everyday life include Nylons, employed in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, employed in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, employed in pipes.
Like a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is satisfied to work with you to understand its properties like a synthetic polymer. To understand more, find us here.
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