Plastics and their Important Properties for Electronic Applications

INTRODUCTION TO PLASTICS AND THEIR IMPORTANT PROPERTIES FOR ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS 

During the nineteenth century much interesting work was performed on polymeric materials beginning with the vulcanisation of rubber in 1839 and also including the development of nitrated cellulose (celluloid) in 1868. It was not until after the turn of the century that the first commercially successful fully synthetic plastic was produced. 

This was bakelite made from phenol and formaldehyde by Leo 

Baekeland in 1909. Before the end of the 1920s a large number of other synthetic polymers had been created, notable examples being the development of polyvinyl chloride in 1927 and urea formaldehyde in 1929. Today there are literally hundreds of synthetic polymers commercially available with ranges of properties making them suitable for applications in many industries including the electrical and electronics industries. For every material commercially available many more have been synthesised, examined and discarded as of no present use for various technical or economic reasons. The year of introduction and typical electronics applications for various plastics are shown in Table 1.1. 

Much of the driving force behind the development of many modern plastics materials came from the electrical and electronics industries, largely because of the numerous areas for application in electrical and electronic components. Typical applications for plastics in the electronics and electrical industries are shown in Table 1.2. 

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