Polymers have for long been a fundamental portion of our everyday lives so much so that examples is found almost ubiquitously. We are apt to have an effect which leads us to believe that polymers are only plastics employed for packaging, in household objects as well as for making fibres, however, this is simply the tip with the iceberg.
Polymers are utilized in many applications you might not have thought much about. This site enlightens you regarding the story behind polymers and how it’s evolved since that time to serve several functions across a host of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans took benefit from the versatility of polymers for years and years available as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it had not been before the industrial revolution how the polymer industry began to develop. Actually, the birth of polymer science could possibly be traced returning to the mid-nineteenth century. In 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 created resin from two quite normal chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between those two chemicals paved the way to build up a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It absolutely was this resin that served as being a harbinger to numerous with the common polymers that people use today. The saying “polymer” is derived from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which build means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are made of countless chemical units called monomers, which can be joined together into large molecular chains made up of a large number of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Based on their origin, polymethyl methacrylate could be regarded as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the types polymers that happen in nature which which can be isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are several examples of natural polymers. Though these are processed to obtain the result, since the basic material comes 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 having a portion of impurities inside.
On this context, biopolymers are also significant. There is large number of biopolymers including polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. These are naturally created by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes means for enormous prospect of the biotechnological output of biopolymers with tailored properties suited to high-value medical application including tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as their name indicates, are synthesized inside the laboratory or factory via a number of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. In the functional point of view they can be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is one such thermoplastic created by the polymerization with the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is usually called acrylic plastic and lends its properties with a selection of 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 goods that use a constituent component of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, amongst others.
Some of the other synthetic polymers that people utilization 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 glad to help you understand its properties as being a synthetic polymer. To find out more, get in touch with us here.
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