Timeline

Definition Plastic is broadly defined as Any inherently formless material that can be molded or modeled under heat or pressure

As early as… Go back as far as the Old Testament References of: Fillers Adhesives Coatings

Good Ol’ Enoch Noyes 1760 Opened business with the use of natural polymers Made combs out of organic proteins (Keratin and Albuminiod) derived from animal horns, hoofs, an tortoise shells

In the beginning… Greek word plastikos First natural plastics Tortoise shell Tree resins Shellac Insect secretion

Natural Rubber Natural rubber: mainly polyisopropene Tends to be sticky when hot, brittle when warm Does not reform when stretched

Natural Rubber Natural rubber: mainly polyisopropene Charles Goodyear, 1839 Oven cleaning Natural rubber: mainly polyisopropene Tends to be sticky when hot, brittle when warm Does not reform when stretched

Ebonite bracelet from 1880 1851: Hard Rubber— 20-30% Sulfur

Christian Schoenbine Swiss Chemist 1840’s Developed Cellulose nitrate Mix of cotton (wife’s apron), nitric acid, and sulfuric acid Early Films Highly flammable and explosive

Parkes Invents Celluloid The first man-made plastic was unveiled by Alexander Parkes at the 1862 Great International Exhibition in London. Parkesine- organic material derived from cellulose that could be molded in heat and retain its shaped when cooled Buttons Combs Pens

Alexander Parkes- 1855 Rights sold to Daniel Spill (1865) Patented Downfall- high cost of the raw materials needed in its production.

John Wesley Hyatt Billiard Co. in U.S. Needed substitute for ivory in making balls John Wesley Hyatt developed collodion Upon spilling a bottle of collodion in his workshop, he discovered that the material congealed into a tough, flexible film Camphor and cellulose nitrate Occasional Explosion upon impact Formed the American Celluloid Company which is today the Plastics Division of the Celanese Corporation

Bakelite Dr. Leo Baekeland Patented in 1909 Thermoset resin First totally synthetic plastic (1907) Didn’t throw away his foul glassware Patented in 1909 Thermoset resin Replaced rubber for insulation in electrics

Bakelite

Bakelite Phenol-formaldehyde resins which he called Bakelite.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) PVC was first created by the German chemist Eugen Baumann in 1872. Patented in 1913 Waldo L. Semon, invented a way to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) useful

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)

Applications of PVC

Applications of PVC plasticizers

Polymerization In 1920, German Hermann Staudinger published theories on polyaddition Nine year later published the polymerization of polystyrene.

Polystyrene Dow Chemical brought polystyrene to the U.S. in 1937 Toy shark, in Polystyrene, with moving jaw, Made in USA around 1950 Merrifield resins

Styrofoam Foam egg cartons, burger containers, coffee cups , "peanuts" used in packing and the lightweight foam pieces that cushion new appliances and electronics. Gas is blown in during the polymerization-- 95 % of styrofoam is air (try dissolving in acetone) CFC’s were used until the 80’s: phased out and replaced with pentane or CO2 Polystyrene up close

Dr. Wallace H. Carothers 1930’s research on polymer chains at DuPont Chemical Department Invented Neoprene and Nylon

Nylons Nylon 66 co-crystalline Fibers are spun (showerhead) Condensates of aliphatic diacids with aliphatic diamines Introduced in the 1939 Worlds Fair “Nylonmania” interrupted during WWII, but resumed after the war (the infamous Nylon riots of 1946) Nylon 66 co-crystalline Fibers are spun (showerhead)

Synthetic Rubbers Gasoline pump hoses, Hoses for automobile engines Styrene/Butadiene copolymer (SBR) is the most important synthetic rubber, and was the first and most widely produced rubber of WWII

Plexiglass: anionic polymerization Windshields, plastic coatings, hard and soft contact lenses

Ok, but how can I make a leisure suit Polyesters Dacron

Teflon Teflon Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Dupont Chemical Department First used for artillery shell covers

World War II Polyethylene (1933) Imperial Chemical Industries in England E.W. Fawcett & R.O. Gibson First used for underwater cable coatings and insulation for radar

Polyethylene 1943 Karl Ziegler changed polymerization of polyethylene Use of catalysts Now is most widely produced and perhaps most versatile plastic

Polypropylene Guilio Natta continued Ziegler’s work Created polypropylene in 1957 Substituted for polyethylene where high temperatures were involved Ex. Dishwasher safe dishes Car’s front bumper made of polypropylene in 1978

Stereochemistry and Polymer Properties Isotactic: fabrics for carpets, automobile parts, battery casings, medicine bottles Syndiotactic: new applications are emerging Atactic: soft, and not very useful

Relevant Additional Links History of Plastic and Leo Bakeland inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blplastic.htm History of Plastics www.lle.mdx.ac.uk/site/docs/dt/Historyofplastics.html About Plastics www.americanplasticscouncil.org/benefits/about_plastics/history.html