Polymers have for too long been an integral part of our everyday lives a case in point that examples is available almost ubiquitously. We have an impression which leads us to imagine that polymers are simply just plastics used for packaging, in household objects as well as making fibres, but this is simply the tip of the iceberg.


Polymers are employed in many applications you do not have thought much about. This web site enlightens you concerning the story behind polymers and how it’s got evolved since that time to serve several functions across a number of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have got good thing about the versatility of polymers for hundreds of years in the form of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it was not prior to the industrial revolution the polymer industry developed. In reality, the birth of polymer science may be traced to the mid-nineteenth century. In 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 created a resin from two common chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The response between both of these chemicals led the way to build up a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It turned out this resin that served like a harbinger to many people of the common polymers we use today. The phrase “polymer” hails from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which assembled means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are comprised of many chemical units called monomers, that happen to be joined together into large molecular chains made up of a large number of atoms.
Classification of polymers
On such basis as their origin, acrylic glass may be considered natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are the types polymers that appear in nature and that that happen to be isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are some types of natural polymers. Though they are processed to have the end result, because the basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are called as natural polymers. Natural rubber coming from tree latex is basically a polymer produced from isoprene units having a tiny proportion of impurities inside it.
In this context, biopolymers may also be significant. There is certainly huge variety of biopolymers for example polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally made by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes means for enormous risk of the biotechnological output of biopolymers with tailored properties suited to high-value medical application for example tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, for their name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory by having 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 certainly one such thermoplastic made by the polymerization of the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is usually called acrylic plastic and lends its properties with a selection of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic can be used extensively within the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer products that possess a constituent element of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, and the like.
Many of the other synthetic polymers we use within our everyday life include Nylons, employed in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, employed in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, employed in pipes.
As a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is happy to help you out understand its properties like a synthetic polymer. To find out more, contact us here.
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