Polymers have for long been a fundamental element of our everyday lives so much so that examples is found almost ubiquitously. We are apt to have an impression which leads us to trust that polymers are only plastics used for packaging, in household objects and then for making fibres, however, this is the tip with the iceberg.
Polymers are widely-used in many applications you may not have thought much about. This blog enlightens you regarding the story behind polymers and the way it’s evolved ever since to provide several functions across a number of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have good thing about the flexibility of polymers for hundreds of years as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it wasn’t until the industrial revolution how the polymer industry developed. Actually, the birth of polymer science could be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century. From the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization process that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber right into 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 chemicals led the way to add mass to a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It absolutely was this resin that served being a harbinger to many people with the common polymers that individuals use today. The word “polymer” hails from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which put together means “many parts.” Polymeric substances consist of several chemical units called monomers, that happen to be joined together into large molecular chains composed of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
On such basis as their origin, pmma plastic can be classified as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the ones polymers that happen in nature and that that happen to be isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are several samples of natural polymers. Though these are processed to have the end result, considering that the basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are called as natural polymers. Natural rubber received from tree latex is essentially a polymer made out of isoprene units with a small percentage of impurities in it.
On this context, biopolymers can also be significant. There is certainly vast number of biopolymers like polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally produced by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes means for enormous possibility of the biotechnological output of biopolymers with tailored properties suited to high-value medical application like tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as his or her name indicates, are synthesized in the laboratory or factory by way of a number of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. In the functional perspective they can be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is a such thermoplastic produced by the polymerization with the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is commonly referred to as acrylic plastic and lends its properties into a variety of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is utilized extensively in the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer goods that possess a constituent part of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and the like.
Some of the other synthetic polymers that individuals use within our everyday life include Nylons, utilized in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, utilized in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, utilized in pipes.
Like a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is pleased to help you to understand its properties being a synthetic polymer. To find out more, contact us here.
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