Industrial synthetic polymer chemist

Based on experience, this situation is absolutely typical of the way in which synthetic polymer chemists operate in an industrial setting, being integrated constantly in interdisciplinary expert networks, all parts of which have their own competencies, and which are all inter-dependent. Clearly, without a team, a single polymer chemist cannot do anything - but the others won t be able to work without him or her, either ... 

As the demand for rubber increased, so did the chemical industry s efforts to prepare a synthetic substitute. One of the first elastomers (a synthetic polymer that possesses elasticity) to find a commercial niche was neoprene, discovered by chemists at Du Pont in 1931. Neoprene is produced by free-radical polymerization of 2-chloro-1,3-butadiene and has the greatest variety of applications of any elastomer. Some uses include electrical insulation, conveyer belts, hoses, and weather balloons. 

In just a short time, olefin metathesis has become an important tool to the synthetic organic chemist. The large-scale use of this chemistry has already been seen in the polymer and fragrance industries. As drug candidates move through the development pipeline, the commercial application of this chemistry probably will be put into practice. The applications of the asymmetric catalysts allow for an efficient coupling of two reactions with the same catalyst and reaction conditions. 

If this is a project sponsored by a for-profit company, the polymer chemist will need a synthetic procedure that is practical, safe, and environmentally benign, that can be scaled up for manufacturing, and that is inexpensive enough so the company can make a profit. It should come as no surprise that as the electronics industry continues to produce smaller and more sophisticated devices, the demand for new ideas and new materials remains extremely high. For one, a plastic semiconductor stable in air (Anon. CEN 2002) or a polymeric transistor (Dagani 2001) that could replace silicon would eliminate the need for complicated and relatively expensive silicon fabrication technology. 

From the outset polymer science has involved physicists, chemists, engineers, materials scientists and design engineers. The multidisciplinary nature of polymer science from its earliest days is a feature that is not often exhibited by other fields of natural science until a certain maturity has been reached. The synthetic polymer industry in the UK expanded greatly over the years from... 

Industrial or synthetic polymers find extensive use in modern day society. They are many in number, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) polyamides (Nylon), polyethylene teraphthalate (PET), polystyrene and polyolefins, to name but a few. Polymers are without exception very complex compounds, capable of manifesting themselves in many shapes and forms. They can exist as viscous liquids, powders, coloured granules, cast or extruded sheet, transparent or translucent film, formulated (in some cases in excess of ten different additives may be added) or unformulated. Hence they can present a very daunting task to the analyst or polymer chemist wishing to fully characterise such materials. 

The picture is even more exciting when we contemplate the entire synthetic polymer scene. Although polymer science as a distinct field is barely 60 years old, synthetic polymers are ubiquitous in modem life. A recent study sponsored by the National Research Council estimates that at least one-third of all industrial chemists deal with polymers of one kind or another, and that polymer processing accounts for nearly 100 billion of American manufacturing. 

The field is wide and the topics quite different in terms of relative experimental complexity and economy with respect to potential industrial applications. Synthetic processes for some of the monomers and polymers described in the various chapters appear to comply with the requirements associated with a viable scale-up. This is particularly the case if the precursors are already industrial commodities or readily available, as in the cases of the direct polymerisation of pristine oils, use of different derivatives of castor oil, or exploitation of epoxidised oils. Other systems, despite their high potential, appear to require further work at a more practical level to assess their feasibility and possible implementation. This will require the combined efforts of polymer chemists and process engineers, among other experts. 

Around the turn of the twentieth century, modern atomic theory wreis developed, and chemistry became a mainstream science through which new materials could be produced. Each new material engendered new apphcations, and each new application played to a demand for stiU newer materials, mostly derived from coal tar, of which a ready supply existed. The final key requirementwreis the discovery and development of polymerization. The first completely synthetic polymer, compounded from phenol and formaldehyde, was developed in 1907 by Belgian chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland. It proved to be the elusive material needed to expedite the mass production of consumer goods. Soon, many other new materials were created from polymerization, which led to the development of the modem plastics industry. These versatile resin materials were used in a variety of applications, from the synthetic fibers used to make cloth to essential structural components of modern space and aircraft. 

According to tbe U.S. Department of Labor, polymer scientists, in the first decade of the twenty-first century, were the most extensively employed chemists, surpassing by four times tbeir nearest competitors, chemists in the pharmaceutical industry. In terms of U.S. chemical exports, plastics and resins have been on a par with organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Because of the dramatic and increasing use of polymers in industries, some have called this period in technological history the age of the macromolecule. Most important advances in chemistry and allied fields have involved synthetic polymers, a contemporary example being carbon nanotubes. 

In the classic 1967 film The Graduate, the protagonist, Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman), is attempting to plan his postcollege path. His neighbor provides one word of advice, Plastics. This counsel has become part of American culture and is often parodied. But, it is good advice, because not since the transformations from stone to bronze and then to iron have new materials so completely transformed a society. Plastics made from synthetic polymers are ubiquitous, from Tupperware to artificial hearts. About half the world s chemists work in polymer-related industries. 

The basic thrust of the polymer industry began changing in the early 1900s, when chemists began to make commercial scale synthetic polymers. Although the first synthetic polymers were made in the late 1830s, they... 

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