Polymer science
Properties Architecture Tacticity Morphology Degradation Phase behavior Mark–Houwink theory UCST LCST Flory–Huggins solution theory Coil–globule transition
Synthesis Chain polymerization Radical polymerization RDRP] ATRP RAFT Nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization Step polymerization Condensation polymerization Addition polymerization
Classification Functional type Polyolefin Polyethylene Polypropylene Polyisobutylene Polyurethane Polyester Polycarbonate Vinyl polymers PVC PVA PVAc Polystyrene Structure Homopolymer Copolymer Gels Hydrogels Self-healing hydrogels
Characterization GPC FTIR X-ray crystallography DSC NMR TGA DMA Rheology Rheometry Viscometry
Scientists Flory Heeger MacDiarmid Shirakawa Natta Edwards de Gennes Ziegler Staudinger Goodyear Baekeland Hayward Braconnot
Applications Industrial production Extrusion Blow molding Applied coatings Protective Coatings 3D printing Consumer products Tires Whitewalls Cookware and bakeware Bakelite Food Container Vinyl record Kevlar Plastic bottle Plastic bag
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Polymer science ormacromolecular science is a subfield ofmaterials science concerned withpolymers, primarily synthetic polymers such asplastics andelastomers. The field of polymer science includes researchers in multiple disciplines includingchemistry,physics, andengineering.

Thisscience comprises three main sub-disciplines:

• Polymer chemistry ormacromolecular chemistry is concerned with the chemical synthesis and chemical properties of polymers.
• Polymer physics is concerned with the physical properties ofpolymermaterials andengineering applications. Specifically, it seeks to present the mechanical, thermal, electronic and optical properties of polymers with respect to the underlying physics governing a polymer microstructure. Despite originating as an application ofstatistical physics to chain structures,^[1] polymer physics has now evolved into a discipline in its own right.
• Polymer characterization is concerned with the analysis of chemical structure, morphology, and the determination of physical properties in relation to compositional and structural parameters.

The first modern example of polymer science isHenri Braconnot's work in the 1830s. Henri, along withChristian Schönbein and others, developed derivatives of the natural polymercellulose, producing new, semi-synthetic materials, such ascelluloid andcellulose acetate. The term "polymer" was coined in 1833 byJöns Jakob Berzelius, though Berzelius did little that would be considered polymer science in the modern sense. In the 1840s,Friedrich Ludersdorf andNathaniel Hayward independentlydiscovered that adding sulfur to raw naturalrubber (polyisoprene) helped prevent the material from becoming sticky. In 1844Charles Goodyear received a U.S. patent forvulcanizing natural rubber withsulfur and heat.Thomas Hancock had received a patent for the same process in the UK the year before. This process strengthened natural rubber and prevented it from melting with heat without losing flexibility. This made practical products such as waterproofed articles possible. It also facilitated practical manufacture of such rubberized materials. Vulcanized rubber represents the first commercially successful product of polymer research. In 1884Hilaire de Chardonnet started the first artificialfiber plant based on regeneratedcellulose, orviscoserayon, as a substitute forsilk, but it was very flammable.^[2] In 1907Leo Baekeland invented the firstsynthetic plastic, athermosettingphenol–formaldehyde resin calledBakelite.^[3]

Despite significant advances in polymer synthesis, the molecular nature of polymers was not understood until the work ofHermann Staudinger in 1922.^[4] Prior to Staudinger's work, polymers were understood in terms of theassociation theory or aggregate theory, which originated withThomas Graham in 1861. Graham proposed that cellulose and other polymers werecolloids, aggregates of molecules having small molecular mass connected by an unknown intermolecular force.Hermann Staudinger was the first to propose that polymers consisted of long chains ofatoms held together bycovalent bonds. It took over a decade for Staudinger's work to gain wide acceptance in the scientific community, work for which he was awarded theNobel Prize in 1953.

The World War II era marked the emergence of a strong commercial polymer industry. The limited or restricted supply of natural materials such assilk andrubber necessitated the increased production of synthetic substitutes, such asnylon^[5] andsynthetic rubber.^[6] In the intervening years, the development of advanced polymers such asKevlar andTeflon have continued to fuel a strong and growing polymer industry.

The growth in industrial applications was mirrored by the establishment of strong academic programs and research institutes. In 1946,Herman Mark established the Polymer Research Institute atBrooklyn Polytechnic, the first research facility in the United States dedicated to polymer research. Mark is also recognized as a pioneer in establishing curriculum and pedagogy for the field of polymer science.^[7] In 1950, the POLY division of theAmerican Chemical Society was formed, and has since grown to the second-largest division in this association with nearly 8,000 members. Fred W. Billmeyer, Jr., a Professor of Analytical Chemistry had once said that "although the scarcity of education in polymer science is slowly diminishing but it is still evident in many areas. What is most unfortunate is that it appears to exist, not because of a lack of awareness but, rather, a lack of interest."^[8]

2005 (Chemistry)Robert Grubbs,Richard Schrock,Yves Chauvin for olefin metathesis.^[9]

2002 (Chemistry)John Bennett Fenn,Koichi Tanaka, andKurt Wüthrich for the development of methods for identification and structure analyses ofbiological macromolecules.^[10]

2000 (Chemistry)Alan G. MacDiarmid,Alan J. Heeger, andHideki Shirakawa for work onconductive polymers, contributing to the advent ofmolecular electronics.^[11]

1991 (Physics)Pierre-Gilles de Gennes for developing a generalized theory ofphase transitions with particular applications to describing ordering and phase transitions in polymers.^[12]

1974 (Chemistry)Paul J. Flory for contributions to theoretical polymer chemistry.^[13]

1963 (Chemistry)Giulio Natta andKarl Ziegler for contributions in polymer synthesis. (Ziegler-Natta catalysis).^[14]

1953 (Chemistry)Hermann Staudinger for contributions to the understanding of macromolecular chemistry.^[15]

• McLeish T.C.B. (2009) Polymer Physics. In: Meyers R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Complexity and Systems Science. Springer, New York, NY.doi:10.1007/978-0-387-30440-3_409

• Asua, José M. (August 2007).Polymer Reaction Engineering(Hardcover - 392 pages). Wiley, John & Sons.ISBN 978-1-4051-4442-1.

• List of scholarly journals pertaining to polymer science

• Soft matter
• Materials science
• Polymers

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata