Polymers have for lengthy been a fundamental portion of our everyday lives a case in point that examples are available almost ubiquitously. We generally have an impact leading us to believe that polymers are simply just plastics useful for packaging, in household objects and then for making fibres, however this is simply the tip of the iceberg.
Polymers are employed in many applications you may not have thought much about. This site enlightens you about the story behind polymers and the way it’s got evolved ever since for everyone several functions across a host of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have benefit of the versatility of polymers for years and years available as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it was not before the industrial revolution how the polymer industry began to develop. In reality, the birth of polymer science may be traced returning to the mid-nineteenth century. Inside 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 both of these chemicals led the way to build up a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It was this resin that served as being a harbinger to many of the common polymers we use today. The term “polymer” is derived from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which assembled means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are composed of several chemical units called monomers, which are gathered into large molecular chains comprising thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Based on their origin, sumitomo chemical asia could be regarded as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the ones polymers that happen in nature which which are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are some examples of natural polymers. Though these are processed to get the end result, since the basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are termed as natural polymers. Natural rubber via tree latex it’s essentially a polymer made out of isoprene units using a portion of impurities inside it.
With this context, biopolymers may also be significant. There is certainly huge variety of biopolymers including polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They’re naturally created by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes method for enormous possibility of the biotechnological production of biopolymers with tailored properties ideal for high-value medical application including tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, for their name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory via a series of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. From the functional viewpoint they may be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is but one such thermoplastic created by the polymerization of the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is commonly known 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 within the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer items that use a constituent component of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and others.
Some of the other synthetic polymers we used in us include Nylons, found in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, found in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, found in pipes.
Being a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is satisfied to work with you to understand its properties as being a synthetic polymer. To learn more, contact us here.
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