A short history of polymers

It is common to divide plastic materials into thermoplastics and thermosets. Thermoplastics are composed of linear or branched polymer molecules, and for that reason they melt. Thermoplastics are first synthesized and then at a later stage moulded. Thermosets are crosslinked polymers that do not melt. An uncrosslinked prepolymer is given the desired final shape and the polymer is crosslinked at a later stage while it is kept in the mould. 

It is intended in this section to give only a very short presentation of the development of polymer materials and ideas in polymer science. A detailed presentation of this field is given by Morawetz (1985). 

The first polymers used were all obtained from natural products. Natural rubber from Hevea trees was being used by the American Indians when Columbus arrived in 1492. Cellulose in different forms, starch and collagen in leather are other examples of natural polymers used. Modification of native polymers started in the mid-nineteenth century and the first wholly synthetic polymer was made at the beginning of the twentieth century. The science of polymers began in the 1920s. 

The development of polymer science and technology has occurred primarily during the last 60-70 years and the commercial introduction of new polymers has proceeded through three time stages giving rise to three generations of polymers. 

The first generation was introduced before 1950 and includes polystyrene, polyvinylchloride, low-density polyethylene, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, glass-fibre reinforced polyesters, aliphatic polyamides, styrene-butadiene rubber and the first synthetic paints (alkyds). 

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Drzaic Paul S. Putting liquid crystal droplets to work A short history of polymer dispersed liquid crystals. Liq. Cryst. 33 no. 11-12 (2006) 1281-1296. 

Okamura S (1989) A short history of applied radiation polymer chemistry in Japan. In Kroh J (ed) Early developments in radiation chemistry. Royal Soc. Chem., London, 321... 

A short history of cationic polymerization was published in 1975 (14. 15). An excellent collection of classic papers was published in 1963 (16). The first recorded cationic polymerization was described in 1789 (17). and the first industrial polymer prepared by cationic polymerization, butyl rubber, appeared on the market in 1943 (14). 

DMTA (or DMA)—the exciting of a material with a periodic stress and monitoring of the resultant strain—has become a commonly used technique for both scientists and engineers who need to know the viscoelastic properties of a material with respect to temperature, humidity, vibration frequency, dynamic or static strain amplitude, or other parameter against time. This chapter will attempt to introduce its principles, cover a short history of the technique relating it to other mechanical tests, and discuss its application to a wide range of polymers and other materials. 

T want to finish this introduction by a short sketch of the history of the subject. The physics of dilute polymer solutions by now has been ail active field for about TO years. Much of the early work is connected to the name of Flory and summarized in his classic books [Flo53, Fit>69], Up to about. 1970 much theoretical or experimental work concentrated on the behavior in the dilute limit, where via virial expansions the problem can be reduced to considering only a few interacting chains. The development led to the so-called two parameter theories , which essentially expand quantities like Rg or A2 in powers of z, In 1971 these developments were most carefully reviewed in a book by Yamakawa [Yam.71]. 

Although the history of rigid monolithic polymers is relatively short, a number of applications have already been explored. These applications cover a rather broad range of fields from heterogeneous catalysis and solid-phase extraction, to polymer-supported chemistry and a variety of separation processes. 

The history of chemiluminescence from polymers is relatively short. In 1961 Ashby [3] reported that light was emitted from polymers heated in air. Because of the relationship between light and oxidation the term oxylumines-cence was used. Ashby saw the possibility of using chemiluminescence as a tool for testing the stability of polymers and studied the role of oxygen concentration and the effect of antioxidants. A few years later, Schard and... 

Magda Staudinger-Woit did not live to see this letter, as it was published shortly before her death in April 1997 at the age of 94. Whereas her claim appealed to an historical justification, the committee gave priority to the present-day conventional usage in the scientific community. After all, the Commission provided a definition that a polymer was a substance composed of macromolecules, a pragmatic solution which, however, blanks the history of strife surrounding the two words. [51]... 

The crystallization of the minor component in incompatible polymer blends starts sometimes at distinctly larger undercoolings than in the pure polymer, and proceeds in several separated steps. After a short survey on the history of the effect in the available literature, the several types and the origin of this "fractionated crystallization" as observed in some selected systems are described. The information on the blend which can be deduced from the effect is discussed, and the consequences for the blend processing and properties are investigated. 

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