Polymers have for lengthy been a fundamental element of our everyday lives so much in fact that examples can be found almost ubiquitously. We have an impression leading us to imagine that polymers are simply just plastics useful for packaging, in household objects as well as making fibres, however, this is the tip of the iceberg.

Polymers are widely-used in many applications you might not have thought much about. This web site enlightens you concerning the story behind polymers and just how it has evolved ever since for everyone several functions across a host of industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have got good thing about the versatility of polymers for years and years as oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it was not before the industrial revolution that this polymer industry started to realize. The truth is, the birth of polymer science could be traced to the mid-nineteenth century. In the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization process that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber in to a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland created a resin from two quite typical chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The response between both of these chemicals led the way for the development of a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It turned out this resin that served like a harbinger to many of the common polymers we use today. The phrase “polymer” hails from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which build means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are comprised of several chemical units called monomers, which can be joined together into large molecular chains consisting of thousands of atoms.
Classification of polymers
On such basis as their origin, sumitomo chemical asia could be classified as synthetic or natural polymers. Natural polymers are the ones polymers that happen in nature knowning that which can be isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are a few samples of natural polymers. Though they’re processed to have the product, since basic material comes from a natural source, these polymers are called as natural polymers. Natural rubber via tree latex is actually a polymer made out of isoprene units which has a tiny proportion of impurities inside it.
In this context, biopolymers can also be significant. There is huge variety of biopolymers including polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. They’re naturally made by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes way for enormous possibility of the biotechnological manufacture of biopolymers with tailored properties well suited for high-value medical application including tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as his or her name indicates, are synthesized from the laboratory or factory through a series of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. In the functional viewpoint they may be classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is certainly one such thermoplastic made by the polymerization of the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is commonly called acrylic plastic and lends its properties to some various consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is utilized extensively from the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer products that possess a constituent part of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, among others.
A number of the other synthetic polymers we use in our everyday life include Nylons, employed in fabrics and textiles, Teflon, employed in non-stick pans and Polyvinyl Chloride, employed in pipes.
As a leading manufacturer of SUMIPEX® PMMA polymer, Sumitomo Chemical is happy to help you understand its properties like a synthetic polymer. To understand more, contact us here.
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