Invention of Plastics
A Brief History of the
Invention of Plastics
by
Mary Bellis
The first man-made plastic
was created by Alexander Parkes who publicly demonstrated it at the 1862 Great
International Exhibition in London.
The material, called
Parkesine, was an organic material derived from cellulose that once heated
could be molded and retained its shape when cooled.
Celluloid
Celluloid is derived from cellulose and alcoholized camphor.
John Wesley Hyatt invented
celluloid as a substitute for the ivory in billiard balls in 1868.
He first tried using a
natural substance called collodion after spilling a bottle of it and
discovering that the material dried into a tough and flexible film.
However, the material was not
strong enough to be used as a billiard ball, not until the addition of camphor,
a derivative of the laurel tree.
The new celluloid could now
be molded with heat and pressure into a durable shape.
Besides
billiard balls, celluloid became famous as the first flexible photographic film
used for still photography and motion pictures.
Hyatt created celluloid in a
strip format for movie film. By 1900, movie film was an exploding market for
celluloid.
Formaldehyde Resins - Bakelite
After cellulose nitrate, formaldehyde was the next
product to advance the technology of plastic.
Around 1897, efforts to manufacture
white chalkboards led to casein plastics (milk protein mixed with formaldehyde)
Galalith and Erinoid are two early tradename examples.
In
1899, Arthur Smith received British Patent 16,275, for
"phenol-formaldehyde resins for use as an ebonite substitute in electrical
insulation," the first patent for processing a formaldehyde resin.
However, in 1907, Leo Hendrik
Baekeland improved phenol-formaldehyde reaction techniques and invented the
first fully synthetic resin to become commercially successful with the trade
name Bakelite.
Here
is a brief timeline of the evolution of plastics.
Timeline - Precursors
· 1839
– Natural Rubber - Method of processing invented by Charles Goodyear
· 1843
– Vulcanite - Invented by Thomas Hancock
· 1843
- Gutta-Percha - Invented by William Montgomerie
· 1856
- Shellac - Invented by Alfred Critchlow and Samuel Peck
· 1856
- Bois Durci - Invented by Francois Charles Lepage
Timeline - Beginning of the Plastic Era with Semi-Synthetics
· 1839
– Polystyrene or PS discovered by Eduard Simon
· 1862
- Parkesine - Invented by Alexander Parkes
· 1863
- Cellulose Nitrate or Celluloid - Invented by John Wesley Hyatt
· 1872
- Polyvinyl Chloride or PVC - First created by Eugen Baumann
· 1894
– Viscose Rayon - Invented by Charles Frederick Cross and Edward John
Bevan
Timeline - Thermosetting Plastics and
Thermoplastics
· 1908
– Cellophane - Invented by Jacques E. Brandenberger
· 1909
- First true plastic Phenol-Formaldehyde trade name Bakelite – Invented by Leo
Hendrik Baekeland
· 1926
– Vinyl or PVC - Walter Semon invented a plasticized PVC.
· 1933
– Polyvinylidene chloride or Saran also called PVDC - Accidentally discovered
by Ralph Wiley, a Dow Chemical lab worker.
· 1935
- Low-density polyethylene or LDPE - Invented by Reginald Gibson and Eric
Fawcett
· 1936
- Acrylic or Polymethyl Methacrylate
· 1937
– Polyurethanes tradenamed Igamid for plastics materials and Perlon for
fibers. - Otto Bayer and co-workers discovered and patented the chemistry of
polyurethanes
· 1938
– Polystyrene made practical
· 1938
- Polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE tradenamed Teflon - Invented by Roy
Plunkett
· 1939
– Nylon and Neoprene – Considered a replacement for silk and a synthetic rubber
respectively by Wallace Hume Carothers
· 1941
- Polyethylene Terephthalate or Pet - Invented by Whinfield and Dickson
· 1942
- Low-Density Polyethylene
· 1942
- Unsaturated Polyester also called PET patented by John Rex Whinfield and
James Tennant Dickson
· 1951
- High-density polyethylene or HDPE tradenamed Marlex - Invented by Paul Hogan
and Robert Banks
· 1951
- Polypropylene or PP - Invented by Paul Hogan and Robert Banks
· 1953
- Saran Wrap introduced by Dow Chemicals.
· 1954
– Styrofoam a type of foamed polystyrene foam was invented by
Ray McIntire for Dow Chemicals
· 1964
- Polyimide
· 1970
– Thermoplastic Polyester this includes trademarked Dacron, Mylar,
Melinex, Teijin, and Tetoron
· 1978
- Linear Low-Density Polyethylene
· 1985
- Liquid Crystal Polymers
Mary Bellis has been writing about
inventors since 1997. She also loves to tinker (invent) and spends too much
time in her workshop developing her ideas.
Experience
Forbes Best of the Web credits Mary for creating
the number one online destination for information about inventors and
inventions. Her writing has been reprinted and referenced to in numerous
educational books and articles. Her opinion and advice is requested by media
outlets on a constant basis. In addition, she has produced and directed a
number of films, including a documentary on Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor
of the telephone, and has worked as a curator specializing in computer
generated art.
Education
Mary has two degrees in film and animation from
the San Francisco Art Institute. She is a big fan of both history and
technology and an avid reader of books and periodicals on those topics.
Mary Bellis
I have a passion for inventing and a deep
respect for all inventors. I know firsthand the difficulties that inventors
face and I want to help by making the path from idea to marketplace a clearer
process.
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