Page 46 - Carrahers_Polymer_Chemistry,_Eighth_Edition

Introduction to Polymers 9

TABLE 1.2
Commercialization of Selected Polymers
Polymer Year Company
Bakelite 1909 General Bakelite Corp.
Rayon 1910 American Viscose Company
Poly(vinyl chloride) 1927 Goodrich
Styrene–Butadiene copolymer 1929 I.G. Farben
Polystyrene 1929/1930 I.G. Farben & Dow
Neoprene 1931 Dupont
Poly(methyl methacrylate) 1936 Rhom and Haas
Nylon-66 1939/1940 Dupont
Polyethylene (LDPE) 1939 ICI
Poly(dimethyl siolxane) 1943 Dow Corning
Acrylic fi ber 1950 Dupont
Poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET 1953/1954 Dupont/ICI
Polyurethane block copolymers (Spandex) 1959 Dupont
Poly(phenylene terephthalamide) 1960 Dupont

TABLE 1.3
Nobel Prize Winners for Their Work with Synthetic Polymers

Scientist(s) Year Area
Herman Staudinger 1953 Polymer hypothesis
Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta 1963 Stereoregulation of polymer structure
Paul Flory 1974 Organization of polymer chains
Bruce Merrifield 1984 Synthesis on a solid matrix

Pierre de Gennes 1991 Polymer structure and control at interfaces
A.J. Heeger, Alan Mac Diarmid, and H. Shirakawa 2000 Conductive polymers

Unlike other areas of chemistry, most of the basic research has been done in industry so that
there is often a close tie between discoveries and their commercialization. Table 1.2 lists some of
the dates of commercialization for some important synthetic polymer discoveries.
A number of Nobel Prizes have been given for polymer work. Table 1.3 contains winners for
advances in synthetic polymers. In truth, there are many more since most of the prizes given out in
medicine and biology deal with giant molecules.
Throughout this text advances are placed in some historical setting. This adds some texture to the
topics as well as case histories that are widely used in subject areas such as business and medicine.

1.2 WHY POLYMERS?
Polymers are all about us. They serve as the very basis of both plant and animal life as proteins,
nucleic acids, and polysaccharides. In construction they serve as the concrete, insulation, and
wooden and composite beams. At home they are found as the materials for our rugs, curtains,
coatings, waste paper baskets, water pipes, window glass, ice cube trays, and pillows. In transporta-
tion they are present in ever increasing amounts in our air craft, automobiles, ships, and trucks. In
communication they form critical components in our telephones, TVs, computers, CDs, newspaper,

optical fibers, and cell phones. Plastics act as favorite materials for our toys such as toy soldiers,

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