Page 25 - Biodegradable Polyesters

1.1 Historical Overview on the Origin of Polymer Science and Synthesis of Polyamides 3

molecules with a molecular weight higher than 5000 do not exist. Purify your
products, such as rubber, then they will crystallize and prove to be low molecular
compounds!” [5].
Staudinger continued the promotion of his concepts of polymer sciences,
despite his colleagues’ mistrust of many of his methods and results. He elo-
quently defended his ideas against all attacks using his ingenuity, persistence,
and pronounced enthusiasm. By the end of the 1920s and during the 1930s,
Staudinger’s macromolecular concept found increasing acceptance by other
chemists. Finally, on 10 December 1953, Staudinger was rewarded for his concept
of macromolecules and his prolonged effort to establish the science of large
molecules, when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry [5].

1.1.1
Synthesis of Polyamides

Wallace Carothers (1896–1937) who is another great polymer giant must not be
neglected here. In the 1930s, Carothers formally reported laboratory and theo-
retical studies for the condensation polymerization and made synthetic polymers
of Nylon and glycol esters [10, 11] (Figure 1.2). Among the discoveries of syn-
thetic polymers, Carothers’ most significant achievement was the synthesis of

Figure 1.2 Wallace Carothers who was born on 27 April 1896 in Burlington, Iowa, United
States and died on 29 April 1937 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States [12].