Polymers have for very long been a fundamental piece of our everyday lives so much in fact that examples is found almost ubiquitously. We are apt to have the feeling which leads us to believe that polymers are merely plastics utilized for packaging, in household objects as well as for making fibres, however is only the tip from the iceberg.
Polymers are widely-used in many applications you do not have thought much about. This site enlightens you regarding the story behind polymers and how they have evolved from the time to serve several functions across numerous industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have good thing about the flexibility of polymers for centuries available as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it wasn’t before industrial revolution how the polymer industry started to realize. The truth is, the birth of polymer science could possibly be traced time for 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 designed a resin from two quite typical chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between these two chemicals led the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It had been this resin that served being a harbinger to many people from the common polymers we use today. The word “polymer” hails from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which assembled means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are comprised of many chemical units called monomers, which can be joined together into large molecular chains consisting of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Judging by their origin, methyl methacrylate resin can be viewed as natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are the type polymers that occur in nature which which can be isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are several instances of natural polymers. Though they are processed to get the result, because the basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are referred to as natural polymers. Natural rubber via tree latex is basically a polymer created from isoprene units having a portion of impurities in it.
With this context, biopolymers are also significant. There is certainly large number of biopolymers like polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally created by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes way for enormous risk of the biotechnological output of biopolymers with tailored properties ideal for high-value medical application like tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as his or her name indicates, are synthesized inside the laboratory or factory by way of a group of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. From your functional viewpoint they are often classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is certainly one such thermoplastic created by the polymerization from the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is commonly 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 inside the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer items that have a constituent portion of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, among others.
A number of the other synthetic polymers we use within us include Nylons, used in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, used in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, used in pipes.
As a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is happy to assist you understand its properties being a synthetic polymer. To learn more, find us here.
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