Polymers have for long been a fundamental portion of our everyday lives so much so that examples is available almost ubiquitously. We generally an impression that leads us to believe that polymers are simply just plastics utilized for packaging, in household objects as well as for making fibres, however this is just the tip in the iceberg.


Polymers are utilized in many applications you do not have thought much about. This blog enlightens you concerning the story behind polymers and the way it has evolved since that time to provide several functions across quite a few industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans took advantage of the versatility of polymers for hundreds of years available as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it wasn’t before industrial revolution that this polymer industry started to realize. Actually, the birth of polymer science could be traced time for the mid-nineteenth century. From the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization process that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber right into a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland designed a resin from two quite typical chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The response between these two chemicals paved the way to add mass to a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It absolutely was this resin that served like a harbinger to a lot of in the common polymers that we use today. The term “polymer” is derived from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which come up with means “many parts.” Polymeric substances consist of numerous chemical units called monomers, which are gathered into large molecular chains comprising thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
Based on their origin, Acrylic Plastic might be viewed as natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are the types polymers that exist in nature and that which are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are some instances of natural polymers. Though they’re processed to get the result, since basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are termed as natural polymers. Natural rubber via tree latex is actually a polymer produced from isoprene units having a tiny proportion of impurities inside.
In this context, biopolymers are also significant. There is certainly huge variety of biopolymers such as polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They are naturally created by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes way for enormous prospect of the biotechnological production of biopolymers with tailored properties suited to high-value medical application such as tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, for their name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory through a compilation of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. Through the functional viewpoint they may be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and artificial fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is a such thermoplastic created by the polymerization in the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is frequently referred to as acrylic plastic and lends its properties into a number 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 goods that have a constituent component of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, amongst others.
A few of the other synthetic polymers that we use within us 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 pleased to work with you in understanding its properties like a synthetic polymer. To know more, contact us here.
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