Polymers have for long been a fundamental element of our everyday lives a case in point that examples is found almost ubiquitously. We have an impact that leads us to trust that polymers are simply plastics employed for packaging, in household objects as well as for making fibres, however is only the tip with the iceberg.
Polymers are employed in all sorts of applications you may not have thought much about. This site enlightens you concerning the story behind polymers and the way it’s evolved from the time to provide several functions across a number of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans took good thing about the flexibility of polymers for centuries in the form of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it wasn’t before the industrial revolution that this polymer industry started to realize. In fact, the birth of polymer science may be traced to the mid-nineteenth century. Inside the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization procedure 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 these two chemicals led the way to build up a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It had been this resin that served as being a harbinger to many with the common polymers that we use today. The term “polymer” hails from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which put together means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are comprised of several chemical units called monomers, which can be gathered into large molecular chains composed of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Judging by their origin, thermoplastic resin may be classified as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the types polymers that happen in nature understanding that which can be isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are several types of natural polymers. Though they are processed to find the end product, since the basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are referred to as natural polymers. Natural rubber via tree latex is actually a polymer made out of isoprene units using a tiny proportion of impurities inside.
On this context, biopolymers can also be significant. There is certainly vast number of biopolymers such as polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They may be naturally produced by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes method for enormous possibility of the biotechnological production of biopolymers with tailored properties ideal for high-value medical application such as tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as his or her name indicates, are synthesized from the laboratory or factory via a group of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. Through the functional point of view they are often classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is certainly one such thermoplastic produced by the polymerization with the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is often called acrylic plastic and lends its properties into a various consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is utilized extensively from the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer products that use a constituent component of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, among others.
A few of the other synthetic polymers that we use within us include Nylons, employed in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, employed in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, employed in pipes.
As a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is pleased to work with you to understand its properties as being a synthetic polymer. To understand more, contact us here.
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