Polymer chemistry facts for kids

Polymer chemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies polymers. Polymers are very large molecules, also called macromolecules. Think of them like long chains made of many small, repeating units. Polymer chemistry looks at how these long chains are made and what their properties are.

Polymers are all around us! They can be found in nature or made by people.

• Natural Polymers (Biopolymers) are made by living things:
  • Proteins: These are like the building blocks of life. Some, like collagen and keratin, help build our bodies. Others, like enzymes, help chemical reactions happen.
  • Polysaccharides: These are complex sugars. Cellulose is what makes up plant cell walls, and starch is how plants store energy.
  • Nucleic acids: These include DNA and RNA, which carry genetic information in all living things.

• Man-made Polymers (Synthetic Polymers) are created by scientists and engineers. We use them to make many things, like:
  • Plastics: Such as polyethylene (used in plastic bags), Teflon (for non-stick pans), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC, used in pipes).
  • Fibers: Like nylon and rayon, used in clothes and ropes.
  • Other materials: Including paints, adhesives (glues), and parts for machines.

Chemists study polymers in many ways. They look at how big the polymer chains are, how they are arranged, and if they have branches. They also study how polymers react to heat, like their glass transition temperature (when they change from hard to soft) and their melting point.

How Polymer Chemistry Started

The study of polymers began by looking at long fibers found in plants.

• In 1777, Henri Braconnot started studying these natural fibers. Later, in 1846, Christian Schönbein discovered nitrocellulose. This material, when mixed with camphor, became celluloid. Celluloid was used to make early films and other items. Doctors even used a liquid form of it, called collodion, to cover wounds during the U.S. Civil War.
• Around the same time, in the 1830s, Friedrich Ludersdorf and Nathaniel Hayward found that adding sulfur to natural rubber made it less sticky. In 1844, Charles Goodyear received a patent in the U.S. for this process, called vulcanization. It made rubber much more useful.

In 1884, Hilaire de Chardonnet opened the first factory to make artificial fibers. He used regenerated cellulose to create viscose rayon, which was meant to be a substitute for silk. However, it was very easy to burn.

A big step forward happened in 1907 when Leo Baekeland invented Bakelite. This was the first fully synthetic polymer. It was a hard plastic used for things like radios and telephones.

The Idea of Macromolecules

For a long time, scientists didn't fully understand what polymers were. They thought polymers were just small molecules clumped together.

• Then, in 1922, a German chemist named Hermann Staudinger had a groundbreaking idea. He suggested that polymers were actually very long chains of atoms connected by strong chemical bonds. He called these long chains "macromolecules."
• Staudinger's idea was very new and not everyone believed him at first. But his research proved he was right, and he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1953 for his important discovery.

New Discoveries and Uses

After Staudinger's work, many new polymers were invented:

• In 1931, Wallace Carothers created the first synthetic rubber, called neoprene. He also invented nylon in 1935, which was a strong, synthetic fiber that could replace silk.
• Later, in 1966, Stephanie Kwolek developed an amazing material called Kevlar. Kevlar is incredibly strong and is used in things like bulletproof vests and protective gear.

Today, chemists continue to design new polymers for many different uses. They combine different types of polymers to create materials with the best properties. For example, special polymers are used in automobile engines because they can handle very high temperatures.

Over time, universities began to teach and research polymer chemistry. The first "Institut fur Makromolekulare Chemie" was founded in Germany in 1940. In America, the "Polymer Research Institute" (PRI) was started in 1941. These places helped train many scientists who went on to work in the polymer industry and in schools.

Images for kids

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  A small part of a nylon chain.

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  A tool called a Viscometer used to measure how thick or "sticky" a polymer liquid is.

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  Hermann Staudinger, often called the father of polymer chemistry.

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  Wallace Carothers, who invented nylon.

See also

In Spanish: Química de polímeros para niños