History of polymers

If we exclude most of the biopolymers such as wood, cotton, silk, and others, one of the first polymers in use was natural rubber (NR). The Indians of South America were playing with rubber balls made from latex when the Spanish arrived in the Americas in the 1400s. The first description of the rubber ball dates back to 1496. 

Polymers have replaced metals in components for a myriad of reasons. One of the major issues is cost. The lower cost of polymer parts is due to two major considerations. First, the cost of polymers per unit weight is cheaper than metals. Coupled with this is Ihe typically net shape manufacture of polymer parts. While some polymeric materials are machined from sohd material, most polymer components are made by processes such as injection molding. Often there is no additional machining, beyond removal of flash or molding sprues, to add to the cost of a polymer component. This is in contrast to metal components, which often require significant machining time and costs. Machining of a metallic component can often be the donfinant cost of the part. 

The development of most polymers have occurred at large chemical companies. One of the leaders in polymer development has been DuPont In the United States many polymers are known generally by their DuPont trade names. Perhaps the best example of this is polytetrafluoroethylene (PIPE) known to the public as Teflon. A historical timeline of polymer development is shown in Table 1.1. The Nobel Prizes related to polymers are shown in Table 1.2.  

Pre- 1400s South-American Indians create rubber balls from NR 

1496 Christopher Columbus brings balls back to Europe 

---

Our purpose in this introduction is not to trace the history of polymer chemistry beyond the sketchy version above, instead, the objective is to introduce the concept of polymer chains which is the cornerstone of all polymer chemistry. In the next few sections we shall introduce some of the categories of chains, some of the reactions that produce them, and some aspects of isomerism which multiply their possibilities. A common feature of all of the synthetic polymerization reactions is the random nature of the polymerization steps. Likewise, the twists and turns the molecule can undergo along the backbone of the chain produce shapes which are only describable as averages. As a consequence of these considerations, another important part of this chapter is an introduction to some of the statistical concepts which also play a central role in polymer chemistry. 

The discovery and development of polypropylene, the one genuinely new large tonnage thermoplastics material developed since World War II, forms part of what is arguably the most important episode in the history of polymer science. For many years it had been recognised that natural polymers were far more regular in their structure than synthetic polymers. Whilst there had been some improvement in controlling molecular architecture, the man-made materials, relative to the natural materials, were structurally crude. 

R. B. Seymour, History of Polymer Science and Technology, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York (1982). 

In summary, the historical material about polymers was not as fraitful in the way we used it. Both theories seemed to be useful and convincing for the students. Obviously, both theories are complex and could indeed explain the observed phenomena. The need for modem techniques of analyses becomes obvious, which have also been the important step in the history of polymer theories. Additionally, these results might also show that students are not used to evaluating and comparing different theories. 

The history of polymer fire retardance is reviewed from its inception with the early Egyptians to the most recent developments in intumescent fire retardants and inherently fire retardant polymers. 

This publication is the record of the papers given and of the discussions at a meeting convened in May 1950 at Trinity College, Dublin by D.C. Pepper which is usually referred to as the First International Cationic (occasionally just Ionic) Symposium (A). It is important in the history of polymer science because many important new ideas were discussed there, some for the first time. These included Dainton and Ivin s theory of equilibrium polymerisations, co-catalysis (Plesch, Polanyi and Skinner), and the energetics of polymerisations. The present author made several contributions to that discussion, the most substantial of which was a joint theoretical paper which is reproduced here ... 

Professor Mark s story is told in three chapters by the Editor and four reminiscences by Rudolf Brill (whose association with Mark dates back to 1922), Hans Mark (his son), Linus Pauling, and Maurice Morton. The history of polymer science is given in separate chapters by the Editor, Robert Simha (who has worked with Professor Mark in two countries), and Carl Speed Marvel. One chapter by Charles Carraher gives an up to the minute report on the status of polymer education. The remainder of the book is a collection of reviews and previews of specific, timely topics in polymer science. Despite the diversity of topics, each area covered has contributions from Herman Mark. 

He has earned a lasting place in the history of polymer science through his research contributions, the successes of his students, his organizational genius, and his tireless promotion of the science and its students. It is entirely accurate to say that Herman Mark found polymers a curiosity and made them a science. 

History of polymers, http //www.chemheritage.org/educationalservices/faces/poly/home.htm... 

What role did chance discovery play in the history of polymers Cite some examples. 

The fact is that, in the long history of polymer processing, engineering and design has always been ahead of theory. The development of screwless (or disc-type) extruders, innovative for their time, on the basis of the earlier-discovered normal stress effect (which received the name of the Weissenberg effect) was, apparently, one.of the few exclusions. However, this example has clearly demonstrated the potential and the role of theoretical research in the progress of technology. 

H. Mark, "Coming to an age of polymers in science and technology, History of Polymer Science and Technology, ed. by R. B. Seymour (New York and Basel Marcel Dekker, 1982), 1-9, on 5. 

See C.E. Carraher, Jr., Polymer education and the Mark connection. in G.A. Stahl (ed.), Polymer Science Overview A Tribute to Herman F. Mark (Washington, D.C. American Chemical Society, 1981), 123-142 id., History of polymer education - USA." in R. B. Seymour (ed.), History of Polymer Science and Technology (New York and Basel Marcel Dekker, 1982), 173-197. 

Throughout the history of polymer science there have been efforts to improve (increase) the Tg to increase the useful operating temperature range of polymers. The preponderance of the literature has concentrated on mechanically blended polymeric systems with little component interaction on the molecular level. Where epoxy systems are concerned, the incorporation of additives into the systems results in many changes to the morphology and physical behavior of the material formed. 

Morawetz, H., History of Polymer Science , in Encyclopedia of Polymer Science and Engineering, Wiley-Interscience, John Wiley Sons, New York, 1988, Vol. 7, pp. 722-745. 

M On Wednesday, use Chapter 4 and its excellent history of polymers to discuss the development of the polymer of the week. 

Chapter 4, The History of Polymers, offers a chance to do an interdisciplinary activity with a social studies teacher. Students can learn how the development of polymers is an integral part of the economic development of the twentieth century. Students can gain an appreciation of how conflicts were often the reason for the development of synthetic polymers to replace natural ones or ones that required monomers that were no longer accessible. In the chemistry course, students can learn more about the companies discussed in the history of polymers and what products they market in the twenty-first century. 

Milestones in the history of polymer science (Morawetz, 1985, Percec, 2001, Hawker and Wooley, 2005)... 

While it may be true that many materials will become severely embrittled or discolored before Stage III is far advanced, some special situations exist in which a polymeric system can be regarded as being in Stage IV. For example, in the life history of polymers that tend to crosslink when exposed to near ultraviolet radiation, the conservator may have to remove them or at least have a sound understanding of their swelling properties in solvents under conditions in which the films are in Stage IV with respect to the formation of insoluble matter (27). In a similar sense,... 

---