Massy J. A Little Book about BIG Chemistry: The Story of Man-Made Polymers

Springer International Publishing AG, 2017. — 91 p. — (SpringerBriefs in Materials). — ISBN: 978-3-319-54830-2.This little book is addressed to anyone keen to know how everyday plastic materials came to be discovered and the basic chemistry underlying them. It gives a broad view of man-made polymers, thermoplastic, thermosetting and elastomeric and includes examples of their use in unexpected fields such as water softening and protein synthesis.
Readers should preferably be familiar with organic chemical structures and know something about the chemistry of simple reactions such as esterification. Many will know much more and must forgive me if the treatment is sometimes too simplistic.Big Molecules
Rubber in the 19th Century
Cellulose and Casein in the 19th Century
Macromolecules in the 20th Century
Thermoplastic and Thermosetting Polymers
The Burgeoning of Modern Plastics
Physical Properties of Polymers
Chemical Properties of Polymers
Initiation of Polymerization
Copolymers
Ethical Issues
The Chronology of Polymers
Summary and Conclusions
A Few Suggestions for Further Reading