Styrene development Wartime

The search for materials to aid in the defense effort during World War II resulted in a profound impetus for research into new plastics. Polyethylene, now one of the most important plastics in the world, was developed because of the wartime need for better-quality insulating materials for such applications as radar cable. Thermosetting polyester resins (now used for boatbuilding) were developed for military use. The terpolymer acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), (telephone handsets, luggage. 

During World War II, a shortage of natural rubber was created when Japan occupied the Far Eastern nations where natural rubber was obtained. Because of the great need for rubber, the U.S. government developed what was originally known as Government Rubber Styrene-Type (GR-S) because it was the most practical to put into rapid production on a wartime scale. It was later designated GR-S. 

Early interest in acrylonitrile polymers was not based on its potential use in synthetic fibers. Instead, most interest in these polymers was for their use in synthetic rubber. In 1937, LG. Farbenindustrie introduced the first acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber. Synthetic rubber compounds based on acrylonitrile were developed in the United States during the early 1940s in response to wartime needs. American Cyanamid, however, was the sole U.S. producer of acrylonitrile at that time. In addition to acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, polyblends of acrylonitrile-butadiene with acrylonitrile-styrene copolymers were developed by the United States Rubber Co. After the war, the demand for acrylonitrile dropped sharply, and American Cyanamid was still the sole U.S. producer. 

Looking at the historical development of the emulsion pol)nnerization, it is seen that the trigger factor in this development was the necessity for synthetic rubber in the wartime. The production of styrene/butadiene rubber (SBR) satisfied this requirement. Today, millions of tons of S)mthetic latexes are produced by the emulsion pol3merization process for use in wide variety of applications. In the S)mthetic latexes, the most important groups are styrene/butadiene copolymers, vinyl acetate homopol)rmers and copol)nners, and polyacrylates. Other synthetic latexes contain copolymers of ethylene, styrene, vinyl esters, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride, acrylonitrile, cloroprene and polyurethane. 

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