Polymers have for lengthy been a fundamental element of our everyday lives because of this that examples are available almost ubiquitously. We are apt to have the feeling leading us to believe that polymers are merely plastics employed for packaging, in household objects as well as making fibres, however is only the tip of the iceberg.
Polymers are utilized in all sorts of applications you do not have thought much about. This web site enlightens you concerning the story behind polymers and how it’s got evolved since that time to serve several functions across a number of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans took advantage of the versatility of polymers for years and years as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it had not been until the industrial revolution the polymer industry developed. Actually, the birth of polymer science may be traced returning to the mid-nineteenth century. Inside the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization process that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber in a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland created resin from two quite typical chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The response between these chemicals paved the way to add mass to a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It was this resin that served like a harbinger to a lot of of the common polymers that people use today. The word “polymer” comes from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which build means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are composed of numerous chemical units called monomers, that are joined together into large molecular chains composed of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
On the basis of their origin, pmma thermoplastic may be regarded as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the type polymers that appear in nature understanding that that are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are some instances of natural polymers. Though these are processed to find the result, because the basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are known as natural polymers. Natural rubber received from tree latex is essentially a polymer made from isoprene units which has a small percentage of impurities inside.
With this context, biopolymers are also significant. There’s vast number of biopolymers such as polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally produced by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes way for enormous prospect of the biotechnological production of biopolymers with tailored properties suited to high-value medical application such as tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as their name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory by way of a series of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. From the functional perspective they may be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial 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 number of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is employed extensively within the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer goods that use a constituent portion of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, amongst others.
A few of the other synthetic polymers that people use within our everyday life include Nylons, used in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, used in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, used in pipes.
Being a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is happy to help you to understand its properties like a synthetic polymer. To know more, contact us here.
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