Poly chloroprenes development

Poly(chloroprene) was one of the first synthetic elastomers. It came on the market in 1931, and was developed at the Du Pont factory as part of their search for elastomers for special areas of application. The industrial synthesis of the monomer became possible when Nieuwland discovered mono vinyl acetylene. Today, chloroprene is produced from monovinyl acetylene C4H4, butadiene butene C4H8, or butane C4Hio-... 

The first polymerization of isoprene in sealed bottles was reported in 1884 by Tilden. Methyl rubber was thermally polymerized at 70°C — the reaction required 3 to 6 months, giving poor quality products. In 1926 BASF developed sodium-initiated polymerization of butadiene known as Buna (for BUtadiene -I- Natrium). The first successful, general purpose rubbers were copolymers of butadiene with either styrene, Buna-S, or acrylonitrile, Buna-N [Tschunkur and Bock, 1933 Komad and Tschunkur, 1934]. Poly(2-chlorobutadiene), chloroprene [Carothers et ah, 1931], was introduced in 1931 by DuPont. Elastomeric polysulfides [Patrick, 1932] were... 

Construction Materials. Superabsorbent polsrmers are used to control liquid water in a variety of construction-related products. Joint-sealing composites are made by blending superabsorbents into chloroprene rubber (54) or into poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (55). These composites are used like mortar in the concrete block walls of the structure. Gaps left during construction are subsequently filled as the superabsorbent swells in any water, and subsequent leaks are prevented. A water-blocking construction backfill has also been developed from cement, water absorbing polymer, and an asphalt emulsion (56). 

---