Polymers have for lengthy been a fundamental element of our everyday lives a case in point that examples is found almost ubiquitously. We generally an effect which leads us to imagine that polymers are merely plastics employed for packaging, in household objects as well as making fibres, but this is only the tip from the iceberg.
Polymers are utilized in all sorts of applications you may not have thought much about. This site enlightens you about the story behind polymers and just how it’s got evolved from the time to serve several functions across quite a few industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have taken benefit of the flexibility of polymers for years and years available as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it had not been prior to the industrial revolution how the polymer industry started to realize. The truth is, the birth of polymer science might be traced returning to the mid-nineteenth century. Inside the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization method that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber in a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland created a resin from two quite normal chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The response between these two chemicals paved the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It had been this resin that served as a harbinger to many people from the common polymers that people use today. The phrase “polymer” hails from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which put together means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are composed of countless chemical units called monomers, which are gathered into large molecular chains comprising a huge number of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Judging by their origin, polymethyl methacrylate could be viewed as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the types polymers that exist in nature understanding that which are 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 product, since the basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are known as natural polymers. Natural rubber coming from tree latex is basically a polymer made out of isoprene units using a portion of impurities inside it.
In this context, biopolymers are also significant. There is large number of biopolymers like polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They may be naturally manufactured by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes means for enormous possibility of the biotechnological creation of biopolymers with tailored properties suited to high-value medical application like tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, for their name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory by way of a number of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. Through the functional perspective they may be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is certainly one such thermoplastic manufactured by the polymerization from the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is usually known as acrylic plastic and lends its properties with a selection of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is used extensively within the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer products which have 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 people utilization in our everyday life include Nylons, utilized in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, utilized in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, utilized in pipes.
As a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is satisfied to assist you in understanding its properties as a synthetic polymer. To find out more, reach out to us here.
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