Polymers have for very long been a fundamental portion of our everyday lives because of this that examples is available almost ubiquitously. We generally have an impact which leads us to think that polymers are simply plastics used for packaging, in household objects and for making fibres, but this is just the tip with the iceberg.
Polymers are employed in all sorts of applications you may not have thought much about. This web site enlightens you concerning the story behind polymers and the way it has evolved since for everyone several functions across a host of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have got good thing about the flexibility of polymers since way back when available as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it was not before industrial revolution how the polymer industry began to develop. In fact, the birth of polymer science could possibly 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 to a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland designed a resin from two very common chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The response between both of these chemicals led the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It had been this resin that served as a harbinger to many people with the common polymers that people 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 numerous chemical units called monomers, which are joined together into large molecular chains consisting of 1000s of atoms.
Classification of polymers
On such basis as their origin, Acrylic Plastic may be classified as natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are the type polymers that exist in nature knowning that which are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are several examples of natural polymers. Though they are processed to obtain the end product, since basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are referred to as natural polymers. Natural rubber coming from tree latex is essentially a polymer made out of isoprene units with a portion of impurities inside it.
With this context, biopolymers will also be significant. There is certainly large number of biopolymers for example polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally manufactured by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes way for enormous possibility of the biotechnological output of biopolymers with tailored properties suitable for high-value medical application for example tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as his or her name indicates, are synthesized from the laboratory or factory by having a group 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 manufactured by the polymerization with the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is usually generally known as acrylic plastic and lends its properties to some various 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 use a constituent portion of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and the like.
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.
Like a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is pleased to help you to understand its properties as a synthetic polymer. To know more, get in touch with us here.
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