List of synthetic polymers
Some familiar household synthetic polymers include: Nylons in textiles and fabrics, Teflon in non-stick pans, Bakelite for electrical switches, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in pipes, etc. The common PET bottles are made of a synthetic polymer, polyethylene terephthalate. The plastic kits and covers are mostly made of synthetic polymers like polythene and tires are manufactured from Buna rubbers. However, due to the environmental issues created by these synthetic polymers which are mostly non-biodegradable and often synthesized from petroleum, alternatives like bioplastics are also being considered. They are however expensive when compared to the synthetic polymers.The eight most common types of synthetic organic polymers, which are commonly found in households are:
Polymer chemistry
The chemist Hermann Staudinger first proposed that polymers consisted of long chains of atoms held together by covalent bonds, which he called macromolecules. His work expanded the chemical understanding of polymers and was followed by an expansion of the field of polymer chemistry during which such polymeric materials as neoprene, nylon and polyester were invented. Before Staudinger, polymers were thought to be clusters of small molecules (colloids), without definite molecular weights, held together by an unknown force. Staudinger received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1953. Wallace Carothers invented the first synthetic rubber called neoprene in 1931, the first polyester, and went on to invent nylon, a true silk replacement, in 1935. Paul Flory was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1974 for his work on polymer random coil configurations in solution in the 1950s. Stephanie Kwolek developed an aramid, or aromatic nylon named Kevlar, patented in 1966. Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta received a Nobel Prize for their discovery of catalysts for the polymerization of alkenes. Alan J. Heeger, Alan MacDiarmid, and Hideki Shirakawa were awarded the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of polyacetylene and related conductive polymers. Polyacetylene itself did not find practical applications, but organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) emerged as one application of conducting polymers.