Polymers have for very long been a fundamental portion of our everyday lives so much so that examples are available almost ubiquitously. We generally an impression leading us to imagine that polymers are only plastics useful for packaging, in household objects and for making fibres, however this is simply the tip with the iceberg.
Polymers are widely-used in all sorts of applications you will possibly not have thought much about. This blog enlightens you in regards to the story behind polymers and just how it has evolved since to serve several functions across a number of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have got good thing about the versatility of polymers for years and years by means of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it was not before industrial revolution how the polymer industry began to develop. In reality, the birth of polymer science may be traced back to the mid-nineteenth century. From 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 designed a resin from two common chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between those two chemicals led the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It was this resin that served as being a harbinger to numerous with the common polymers that we use today. The saying “polymer” comes from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which come up with means “many parts.” Polymeric substances consist of several chemical units called monomers, which are joined together into large molecular chains consisting of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
On the basis of their origin, pmma plastic can be viewed as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the type polymers that appear in nature which which are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are a few samples of natural polymers. Though they may be processed to obtain the product, since the basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are called as natural polymers. Natural rubber received from tree latex is actually a polymer produced from isoprene units having a portion of impurities within it.
Within this context, biopolymers may also be significant. There is certainly vast number of biopolymers such as polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. These are naturally made by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes method for enormous risk of the biotechnological creation of biopolymers with tailored properties well suited for high-value medical application such as tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as their name indicates, are synthesized within the laboratory or factory via a number of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. From your functional point of view they are often classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is but one such thermoplastic made by the polymerization with the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is usually known as acrylic plastic and lends its properties to some 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 items that use a constituent portion of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, amongst others.
A number of the other synthetic polymers that we used in us include Nylons, found in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, found in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, found in pipes.
As being a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is pleased to help you in understanding its properties as being a synthetic polymer. To find out more, get in touch with us here.
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