Polymers have for too long been a fundamental element of our everyday lives because of this that examples is available almost ubiquitously. We generally have an impact leading us to trust that polymers are simply plastics employed for packaging, in household objects and for making fibres, but this is just the tip with the iceberg.

Polymers are widely-used in all sorts of applications you will possibly not have thought much about. This site enlightens you regarding the story behind polymers and just how it’s evolved ever since to serve several functions across numerous industries.
Origin of polymer science
Humans have got benefit of the flexibility of polymers for hundreds of years by means of oils, tars, resins and gums. However, it was not before industrial revolution that this polymer industry developed. In fact, the birth of polymer science may be traced time for the mid-nineteenth century. Within the 1830s, Charles Goodyear developed the vulcanization method that transformed the sticky latex of natural rubber in to a useful elastomer for tire use. In 1909, Leo Hendrik Baekeland developed a resin from two quite typical chemicals, phenol and formaldehyde. The reaction between both of these chemicals paved the way to add mass to a resin, called Bakelite, named after him. It turned out this resin that served being a harbinger to numerous with the common polymers we use today. The word “polymer” is derived from the Greek roots “poly” and “mer,” which put together means “many parts.” Polymeric substances are made of countless chemical units called monomers, that are joined together into large molecular chains composed of a large number of atoms.
Classification of polymers
On such basis as their origin, acrylic sheet could be regarded as natural or synthetic polymers. Natural polymers are the type polymers that exist in nature knowning that that are isolated from plant and animal resources. Starch, cellulose, proteins, natural rubber etc. are several types of natural polymers. Though they are processed to have the end result, since the basic material develops from a natural source, these polymers are known as natural polymers. Natural rubber coming from tree latex is actually a polymer made out of isoprene units with a tiny proportion of impurities inside.
In this context, biopolymers will also be significant. There is large number of biopolymers including polysaccharides, polyesters, and polyamides. These are naturally created by microorganisms. The genetic manipulation of microorganisms makes opportinity for enormous prospect of the biotechnological manufacture of biopolymers with tailored properties suitable for high-value medical application including tissue engineering and drug delivery.
Synthetic polymers, as their name indicates, are synthesized inside the laboratory or factory via a number of chemical reactions from low molecular weight compounds. In the functional standpoint they are often classified into four main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets, elastomers and synthetic fibres. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is one such thermoplastic created by the polymerization with the monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA). PMMA is commonly known as acrylic plastic and lends its properties into a number of consumer product applications. Being both a thermoplastic and transparent plastic, acrylic is employed extensively inside the automotive industry in trunk release handles, master cylinder, and dashboard lighting. Consumer products which possess a constituent element of acrylic plastic include aquariums, motorcycle helmet lenses, paint, furniture, picture framing, and umbrella clamps, amongst others.
A number of the other synthetic polymers we used 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 pleased to help you out understand its properties being a synthetic polymer. To understand more, find us here.
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