Polymers have for long been a fundamental piece of our everyday lives a case in point that examples is available almost ubiquitously. We generally have an impact leading us to believe that polymers are only plastics employed for packaging, in household objects and for making fibres, however this is just the tip from the iceberg.
Polymers are used in many applications you do not have thought much about. This site enlightens you about the story behind polymers and the way they have evolved since that time to provide several functions across a host of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans took benefit of the flexibility of polymers for hundreds of years as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it was not until the industrial revolution how the polymer industry developed. In fact, the birth of polymer science might be traced back to 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 developed a resin from two quite normal chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between both of these chemicals paved the way to build up a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It was this resin that served being a harbinger to numerous from the common polymers that individuals use today. The word “polymer” hails 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 gathered into large molecular chains consisting of 1000s of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Judging by their origin, acrylic sheet might be classified as natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are those polymers that happen in nature understanding that that are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are several examples of natural polymers. Though these are processed to have the end product, since basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are called as natural polymers. Natural rubber via tree latex is actually a polymer produced from isoprene units having a portion of impurities within it.
With this context, biopolymers can also be significant. There’s vast number of biopolymers like polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally created by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes means for enormous prospect of the biotechnological production of biopolymers with tailored properties suitable for high-value medical application like tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as their name indicates, are synthesized from the laboratory or factory via a series of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. Through the functional point of view they can be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is a such thermoplastic created by the polymerization from the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is commonly called acrylic plastic and lends its properties with a number of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is employed extensively from the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer items that possess a constituent component of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and others.
Some of the other synthetic polymers that individuals used in our everyday life include Nylons, utilized in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, utilized in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, utilized in pipes.
Like a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is glad to help you out understand its properties being a synthetic polymer. To find out more, reach out to us here.
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