Elastomers synthetic fiber

CIBA-GEIGY AG. Additives for Plastics, Elastomers, Synthetic Fibers for Food Contact Applications, Positive List, Part 1, 1986. 

The synthetic fiber industry as we know it began m 1928 when E I Du Pont de Nemours Company lured Professor Wallace H Carothers from Harvard University to direct their research department In a few years Carothers and his associates had pro duced nylon the first synthetic fiber and neoprene a rubber substitute Synthetic fibers and elastomers are both products of important contemporary industries with an economic influence far beyond anything imaginable m the middle 1920s... 

Acrylonitrile (AN), C H N, first became an important polymeric building block in the 1940s. Although it had been discovered in 1893 (1), its unique properties were not realized until the development of nitrile mbbers during World War II (see Elastomers, synthetic, nitrile rubber) and the discovery of solvents for the homopolymer with resultant fiber appHcations (see Fibers, acrylic) for textiles and carbon fibers. As a comonomer, acrylonitrile (qv) contributes hardness, rigidity, solvent and light resistance, gas impermeabiUty, and the abiUty to orient. These properties have led to many copolymer apphcation developments since 1950. 

The first reported synthesis of acrylonitrile [107-13-1] (qv) and polyacrylonitrile [25014-41-9] (PAN) was in 1894. The polymer received Htde attention for a number of years, until shortly before World War II, because there were no known solvents and the polymer decomposes before reaching its melting point. The first breakthrough in developing solvents for PAN occurred at I. G. Farbenindustrie where fibers made from the polymer were dissolved in aqueous solutions of quaternary ammonium compounds, such as ben2ylpyridinium chloride, or of metal salts, such as lithium bromide, sodium thiocyanate, and aluminum perchlorate. Early interest in acrylonitrile polymers (qv), however, was based primarily on its use in synthetic mbber (see Elastomers, synthetic). 

Polypropylene sheet has been used most extensively however, thermoplastic polyester, polycarbonate, and nylon versions are available (see Elastomers, synthetic Polycarbonates). Continuous strand glass fiber mat is the typical reinforcement. The limited number of sheet suppHers reduces potential for competitive pricing. 

This chapter discusses synthetic polymers based primarily on monomers produced from petroleum chemicals. The first section covers the synthesis of thermoplastics and engineering resins. The second part reviews thermosetting plastics and their uses. The third part discusses the chemistry of synthetic rubbers, including a brief review on thermoplastic elastomers, which are generally not used for tire production but to make other rubber products. The last section addresses synthetic fibers. 

Non-metallic Materials Carbides, carbon, ceramic fiber, ceramic, cermet, composite, cork, elastomer, felt, fiber, glass, glycerin, non-metallic bearing material, rubber (natural), rubber (synthetic), silicone, wood, leather. 

Naturally occurring fibers such as cotton, cellulose, etc., have short whiskers protruding from the surface, which help to give a physical bond when mixed with rubber. Glass, nylon, polyester, and rayon have smooth surfaces and adhesion of these fibers to the rubber matrix is comparatively poor. In addition, these synthetic fibers have chemically unreactive surfaces, which must be treated to enable a bond to form with the mbber. In general, the fibers are dipped in adhesives in the latex form and this technology is the most common one used for continuous fibers. The adhesion between elastomers and fibers was discussed by Kubo [128]. Hisaki et al. [129] and Kubo [130] proposed a... 

Butadiene is one of the group of big four petrochemical building blocks, in company with ethylene, propylene, and benzene. It is used primarily as a feedstock for synthetic rubber, elastomers, and fibers. Butadiene is a colorless gas at room temperature but is normally handled under pressure or refrigerated as a Liquid. 

Only about 5% of the fossil fuels consumed today are used as feedstocks for the production of synthetic carbon-based products. This includes the products of the chemical and drug industries with a major portion acting as the feedstocks for plastics, elastomers, coatings, fibers, etc. 

Wallace Carothers and coworkers at DuPont synthesized aliphatic polyesters in the 1930s [Furukawa, 1998 Hounshell and Smith, 1988]. These had melting points below 100°C, which made them unsuitable for firber use. Carothers then turned successfully to polyamides, based on the theoretical consideration that amides melt higher than esters. Polyamides were the first synthetic fibers to be produced commercially. The polyester and polyamide research at DuPont had a major impact on all of polymer science. Carothers laid the foundation for much of our understanding of how to synthesize polymeric materials. Out of that work came other discoveries in the late 1930s, including neoprene, an elastomer produced from chloro-prene, and Teflon, produced from tetrafluoroethylene. The initial commercial application for nylon 6/6 was women s hosiery, but this was short-lived with the intrusion of World War II. The entire nylon 6/6 production was allocated to the war effort in applications for parachutes, tire cord, sewing thread, and rope. The civilian applications for nylon products burst forth and expanded rapidly after the war. 

In classifying synthetic fibers, there is also a narrow, twilight zone between fibers and elastomers. There are elastomers with liber-like qualifies and vice versa. For example, spandex is a fiber with rubber-like qualities. See also Elastomers. 

Modem civilization consumes vast quantities of organic compounds. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are primary sources of carbon compounds for use in production of energy and as starting materials for the preparation of plastics, synthetic fibers, dyes, agricultural chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, detergents, rubbers and other elastomers, paints and other surface coatings, medicines and drugs, perfumes and flavors, antioxidants and other preservatives, as well as asphalts, lubricants, and solvents that are derived from petroleum. 

Fig. 1-2. Stress-strain curves, (a) Synthetic fiber, like nylon 66. (b) Rigid, britile plastic, like polystyrene, (c) Tough plastic, like nylon 66. (d) Elastomer, like vulcanized natural rubber.

Asbestos-reinforced organic binders (thermoplastics, duroplasts and elastomers) are widely utilized e.g. hardenable molding materials on the basis of asbestos-reinforced phenol or melamine resins for the manufacture of insulating components for combustion engines, components for electrical installations, cogwheels etc. Possible fiber substitutes are glass fibers, carbon fibers and other synthetic fibers (e.g. aramide fibers) and non-fiber fillers such as calcium carbonate, clay or talcum. 

Irganox 259 is a stabilizer for organic substrates such as plastics, synthetic fibers, and elastomers. 

Use Intermediate in adhesives, urethane coatings, and elastomers solvent diluent for epoxy resins synthetic fibers organic synthesis. 

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