Polymers have for long been an integral part of our everyday lives so much in fact that examples is found almost ubiquitously. We have an impact that leads us to think that polymers are only plastics utilized for packaging, in household objects as well as for making fibres, however, this is just the tip with the iceberg.
Polymers are employed in many applications you may not have thought much about. This website enlightens you concerning the story behind polymers and exactly how they have evolved since that time to serve several functions across a host of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have benefit from the flexibility of polymers for hundreds of years available as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it wasn’t before the industrial revolution the polymer industry began to develop. In fact, the birth of polymer science may be traced returning to the mid-nineteenth century. Within the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization process 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 normal chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between these chemicals paved the way to add mass to a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It turned out this resin that served being a harbinger to many people with the common polymers that individuals use today. The word “polymer” hails from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which come up with means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are composed of many chemical units called monomers, that are joined together into large molecular chains composed of 1000s of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Based on their origin, sumitomo chemical asia might be classified as natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are those polymers that exist in nature knowning 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 get the result, since basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are called as natural polymers. Natural rubber received from tree latex is essentially a polymer made from isoprene units using a small percentage of impurities inside it.
With this context, biopolymers may also be significant. There is certainly vast number of biopolymers such as polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally manufactured by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes opportinity for enormous risk of the biotechnological manufacture of biopolymers with tailored properties well suited for high-value medical application such as tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as his or her name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory by having a series of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. From the functional perspective they are often classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is certainly one such thermoplastic manufactured by the polymerization with the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is often generally known as acrylic plastic and lends its properties into a various consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic can be used extensively within the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer items that have a very 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 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 satisfied to help you in understanding its properties being a synthetic polymer. To know more, find us here.
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