- Polymer science
Polymer science or macromolecular science is the subfield of
materials science concerned withpolymer s, primarily synthetic polymers such asplastic s. The field of polymer science includes researchers in multiple disciplines includingchemistry ,physics , andengineering .This
science comprises three main sub-disciplines:*
Polymer chemistry ormacromolecular chemistry , concerned with the chemical synthesis and chemical properties of polymers.
*Polymer physics , concerned with the bulk properties of polymer materials and engineering applications.
*Polymer characterization is concerned with the analysis of chemical structure and morphology and the determination of physical properties in relation to compositional and structural parameters.History of polymer science
Henri Braconnot 's work in the 1830s is perhaps the first modern example of polymer science. Braconnot, along withChristian Schönbein and others, developed derivatives of the natural polymercellulose producing new, semi-synthetic materials, such ascelluloid andcellulose acetate . The term "polymer" was coined in 1833 byJöns Jakob Berzelius , though Berzelius did little that would be considered polymer science in the modern sense. In the 1840s,Friedrich Ludersdorf andNathaniel Hayward independently discovered that adding sulfur to raw naturalrubber (polyisoprene) helped prevent the material from becoming sticky. In 1844Charles Goodyear received a U.S. patent for vulcanizing rubber withsulfur and heat. Thomas Hancock had received a patent for the same process in the UK the year before. Vulcanized rubber represents the first commercially successful product of polymer research. In 1884Hilaire de Chardonnet started the first artificialfiber plant based on regeneratedcellulose , orviscose rayon , as a substitute forsilk , but it was very flammable. [ [http://www.plastiquarian.com/top.htm plastiquarian] ] In 1907Leo Baekeland invented the first synthetic polymer, athermoset tingphenol -formaldehyde resin calledBakelite .Despite significant advances in polymer synthesis, the molecular nature of the polymer was not understood until the work of
Hermann Staudinger in 1922. Prior to Staudinger's work, polymers were understood in terms of theassociation theory or aggregate theory which originated withThomas Graham in 1861. Graham proposed that cellulose and other polymers were "colloids", aggregates of molecules small molecular mass connected by an unknown intermolecular force.Hermann Staudinger was the first to propose that polymers consisted of long chains ofatoms held together bycovalent bond s. It took over a decade for Staudinger's work to gain wide acceptance in the scientific community, work for which he was awarded theNobel Prize in 1953.The
World War II era marked the emergence of a strong commercial polymer industry.Fact|date=March 2007 The limited or restricted supply of natural materials such as silk and latex necessitated the increased production of synthetic substitutes, such asrayon andneoprene . In the intervening years, the development of advanced polymers such asKevlar andTeflon have continued to fuel a strong and growing polymer industry.The growth in industrial applications was mirrored by the establishment of strong academic programs and research institute. In 1946, Herman Mark established the Polymer Research Institute at
Brooklyn Polytechnic , the first research facility in theUnited States dedicated to polymer research. Mark is also recognized as a pioneer in establishing curriculum and pedagogy for the field of polymer science.cite web
url=http://acswebcontent.acs.org/landmarks/landmarks/polymer/pol_1.html
title=Polymer Research Institute
work=National Historical Chemical Landmarks
accessdate = 2007-11-07] In 1950, the POLY division of theAmerican Chemical Society was formed, and has since grown to the second-largest division in this association with nearly 8,000 members. Fred W.Billmeyer, JR, a Professor of Analytical Chemistry had once said that "although the scarcity of education in polymer science is slowly diminishing but it is still evident in many areas. What is most unfortunate is that it appears to exist, not because of a lack of awareness but, rather, a lack of interest." in his textbook of polymer science [Fred W.Billmeyer, JR, (1984), Third Edition, Textbook of Polymer Science, A Wiley-Interscience Publication. preface to the second edition]Nobel prizes related to polymer science
2005 (Chemistry)
Robert Grubbs ,Richard Schrock ,Yves Chauvin for olefin metathesis2000 (Chemistry)
Alan G. MacDiarmid ,Alan J. Heeger , andHideki Shirakawa for work onelectroactive polymers contributing to the advent ofmolecular electronics 1991 (Physics)
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes for developing a generalized theory of phase transitions with particular applications to describing ordering and phase transitions in polymers.1974 (Chemistry)
Paul J. Flory for contributions to theoretical polymer chemistry.1963 (Chemistry)
Giulio Natta andKarl Ziegler for contributions in polymer synthesis. (Ziegler-Natta catalysis ).1953 (Chemistry)
Hermann Staudinger for contributions to the understanding of macromolecular chemistry.References
External links
* [http://www.chemseer.com/journals/journals_polymer.shtml|List of scholarly journals pertaining to polymer science]
* [http://acswebcontent.acs.org/landmarks/landmarks/polymer/pol_1.html|ACS landmark page dedicated to Herman Mark and the founding of the Polymer Research Institute]
* [http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=196629 Polymer structure]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.