Synthetic Polymers and Polymerization Processes

Synthetic Polymers and Polymerization Processes gathers the chemical reactions and man-made macromolecular materials that established the modern plastics, synthetic fiber and elastomer industries from the late nineteenth century onward. It spans the earliest fully synthetic plastic, hardened rubber achieved by sulfur cross-linking, regenerated and semi-synthetic cellulose fibers and films, and the fluorocarbon, vinyl and diene polymers that followed as industrial chemistry matured. It also covers the catalytic and emulsion-based techniques that let chemists control how monomer units link into chains or networks, techniques that made large-scale, reproducible polymer manufacture possible rather than a laboratory curiosity. Together these processes and materials mark the shift from naturally occurring rubber, fiber and resin toward engineered substitutes designed for specific mechanical, thermal or chemical properties.