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An Introduction Humans
have always invested efforts to understand the nature of the physical world
around us. From the ancient Greeks to modern day scientists, chemists have
investigated natural materials and devised ways to synthesize new materials.
Understanding the structure of the carbon atom was a vital step in understanding
and synthesizing polymers.
Several polymers, including Bakelite, were created in the late 1800s and early
1900s. The success of Bakelite led to more intensive research to understand the
structure of polymers and to synthesize new ones. In 1920, a German scientist
first proposed the correct structure for polymers as long chain of many
identical or similar chemical units. While testing this theory, another
scientist produced a very successful polymer, nylon. The
1930s saw the development of many new synthetic polymers such as PVC and Teflon
to name a few. These polymers came to be called plastics. Researchers also
started producing artificial rubber. Scientists then focused on developing
polymers from hydrocarbons such as ethylene and propylene. Research showed that
it was possible to devise catalysts that were very effective for the
polymerization of these hydrocarbons, allowing great control over the properties
of the resulting polymers. As new applications for polymers were being found,
researchers started to investigate their applications in medicine. Updated Material Two polymer documents are now available to download for study: 2. Polymer processing Technologies Both documents are Leaving Certificate (Engineering) higher level standard.
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