Polymers have for long been an integral part of our everyday lives so much in fact that examples is available almost ubiquitously. We generally have an impact which leads us to imagine that polymers are simply plastics employed for packaging, in household objects as well as for making fibres, however, this is only the tip from the iceberg.
Polymers are widely-used in all sorts of applications you might not have thought much about. This site enlightens you regarding the story behind polymers and how it’s got evolved from the time for everyone several functions across numerous industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans took advantage of the flexibility of polymers for hundreds of years by means of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it was not until the industrial revolution that this polymer industry started to realize. The truth is, the birth of polymer science could be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century. Within the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization procedure that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber in a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland developed a resin from two quite typical chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The response between both of these chemicals paved the way to build up a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It had been this resin that served like a harbinger to numerous from the common polymers that we use today. The phrase “polymer” comes from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which come up with means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are composed of numerous chemical units called monomers, that are gathered into large molecular chains made up of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Judging by their origin, methyl methacrylate resin may be regarded as natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are the ones polymers that happen in nature which that are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are some types of natural polymers. Though they may be processed to have the result, since the basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are known as natural polymers. Natural rubber received from tree latex is basically a polymer produced from isoprene units using a tiny proportion of impurities inside.
In this context, biopolymers are also significant. There is certainly vast number of biopolymers like polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. These are naturally made by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes method for enormous risk of the biotechnological manufacture of biopolymers with tailored properties suitable for high-value medical application like tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, his or her name indicates, are synthesized inside the laboratory or factory via a compilation of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. From the functional point of view they are often classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is certainly one such thermoplastic made by the polymerization from the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is frequently known as acrylic plastic and lends its properties with a various consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is used extensively inside the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer items that possess a constituent portion of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and others.
A few of the other synthetic polymers that we use within us include Nylons, used in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, used in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, used in pipes.
Like a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is glad to work with you in understanding its properties like a synthetic polymer. To learn more, contact us here.
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