Polymers have for long been a fundamental element of our everyday lives so much so that examples can be found almost ubiquitously. We generally an effect leading us to think that polymers are simply plastics used for packaging, in household objects and then for making fibres, but this is just the tip from the iceberg.
Polymers are utilized in many applications you will possibly not have thought much about. This site enlightens you concerning the story behind polymers and how it’s got evolved since to provide several functions across a host of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have got advantage of the versatility of polymers for hundreds of years in the form of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it wasn’t prior to the industrial revolution how the polymer industry started to realize. The truth is, the birth of polymer science could possibly be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century. From the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization process that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber into a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland designed a resin from two quite normal chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The response between those two chemicals paved the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It turned out this resin that served like a harbinger to a lot of from the common polymers that we use today. The phrase “polymer” comes from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which come up with means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are made of many chemical units called monomers, that are gathered into large molecular chains composed of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
On the basis of their origin, polymer resin can be regarded as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the type polymers that appear in nature and that that are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are some examples of natural polymers. Though they are processed to have the end product, since basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are referred to as natural polymers. Natural rubber via tree latex it’s essentially a polymer produced from isoprene units which has a tiny proportion of impurities within it.
With this context, biopolymers are also significant. There is certainly huge variety of biopolymers including polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They may be naturally manufactured by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes method for enormous potential for the biotechnological creation of biopolymers with tailored properties well suited for high-value medical application including tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as their name indicates, are synthesized in the laboratory or factory by way of a group of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. Through the functional standpoint they could be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is but one such thermoplastic manufactured by the polymerization from the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is frequently referred to as acrylic plastic and lends its properties into a selection of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic can be used extensively in the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer goods that have a constituent part of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and others.
Some of the other synthetic polymers that we use in 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 glad to assist you in understanding its properties like a synthetic polymer. To understand more, reach out to us here.
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