Polymers have for lengthy been a fundamental piece of our everyday lives so much so that examples is available almost ubiquitously. We have the feeling that leads us to imagine that polymers are simply just plastics used for packaging, in household objects as well as making fibres, but this is the tip of the iceberg.
Polymers are employed in many applications you might not have thought much about. This blog enlightens you regarding the story behind polymers and just how it’s evolved ever since for everyone several functions across a number of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have taken benefit from the versatility of polymers since way back when in the form of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it wasn’t before the industrial revolution that the polymer industry started to realize. In reality, the birth of polymer science might be traced returning to the mid-nineteenth century. Within 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 reaction between these chemicals paved the way to add mass to a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It was this resin that served being a harbinger to many of the common polymers we use today. The term “polymer” hails from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which put together means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are comprised of several chemical units called monomers, that are gathered into large molecular chains made up of 1000s of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Based on their origin, methyl methacrylate resin might be considered natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are the ones polymers that happen in nature and that that are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are several types of natural polymers. Though these are processed to get the end result, because 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 produced from isoprene units with a tiny proportion of impurities in it.
In this context, biopolymers can also be significant. There exists large number of biopolymers for example polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They may be naturally manufactured by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes method for enormous prospect of the biotechnological creation of biopolymers with tailored properties well suited for high-value medical application for example tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, his or her name indicates, are synthesized from the laboratory or factory via a compilation of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. From the functional perspective 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 often called acrylic plastic and lends its properties into a variety of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic can be used extensively from the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer goods that have a very constituent element of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, amongst others.
Some of the other synthetic polymers we used in us include Nylons, utilized in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, utilized in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, utilized in pipes.
As being a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is glad to help you out to understand its properties being a synthetic polymer. To learn more, reach out to us here.
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