Polymers have for very long been a fundamental piece of our everyday lives so much in fact that examples are available almost ubiquitously. We generally have an impression leading us to believe that polymers are simply plastics employed for packaging, in household objects as well as for making fibres, but this is only the tip of the iceberg.
Polymers are utilized in all sorts of applications you might not have thought much about. This site enlightens you concerning the story behind polymers and the way it has evolved ever since to serve several functions across a host of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have benefit of the versatility of polymers for hundreds of years by means of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it was not until the industrial revolution the polymer industry developed. In fact, the birth of polymer science might be traced returning to the mid-nineteenth century. From the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization procedure that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber into a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland created a resin from two very common chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between these two chemicals paved the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It was this resin that served like a harbinger to many of the common polymers we use today. The word “polymer” is derived from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which come up with means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are composed of countless chemical units called monomers, which are joined together into large molecular chains consisting of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Based on their origin, sumitomo chemical asia may be viewed as natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are the ones polymers that happen in nature knowning that which are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are a couple of samples of natural polymers. Though these are processed to obtain the end result, considering that the basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are referred to as natural polymers. Natural rubber received from tree latex is essentially a polymer made from isoprene units which has a tiny proportion of impurities in it.
With this context, biopolymers will also be significant. There is large number of biopolymers like polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally manufactured by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes way for enormous potential for the biotechnological manufacture of biopolymers with tailored properties suited to high-value medical application like tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as their name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory through a group of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. In the functional standpoint they could be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is one such thermoplastic manufactured by the polymerization of the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is usually called acrylic plastic and lends its properties to a various consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is employed extensively within the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer goods that have a very 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 we use in our everyday life include Nylons, found in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, found in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, found in pipes.
As being a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is satisfied to assist you to understand its properties like a synthetic polymer. To understand more, contact us here.
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