The History of Plastic

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In today's world, life without plastics is incomprehensible. We all know the many ways that
plastics contribute to our health, safety and peace of mind. But what about plastics' history -
how were plastic materials invented and discovered Who were the key individuals in
plastics' development and use
Alexander Parkes Invents First Man-Made Plastic
!he first man-made plastic was unveiled by "le#ander Parkes at the $%&' (reat International )#hibition in
*ondon. !his material - which the public dubbed Parkesine - was an or+anic material derived from cellulose that
once heated could be molded but that retained its shape when cooled. Parkes claimed that this new material
could do anythin+ rubber was capable of, but at a lower price. ,e had discovered somethin+ that could be
transparent as well as carved into thousands of different shapes. But Parkesine soon lost its luster, when
investors pulled the plu+ on the product due to the hi+h cost of the raw materials needed in its production.
Celluloid Makes Its Debut
-urin+ the latter part of the $.th century, a rush was on to find a replacement for ivory in billiards balls.
Billiards became so popular that thousands of elephants were killed /ust so their valuable ivory could be
obtained. 0ohn Wesley ,yatt, an "merican, finally came upon the solution in $%&& with celluloid. ,yatt, upon
spillin+ a bottle of collodion in his workshop, discovered that the material con+ealed into a tou+h, fle#ible film.
,e then produced billiard balls usin+ collodian as a substitute for ivory. But due to its hi+hly brittle nature, the
billiard balls would shatter once they hit each other. !he solution to this challen+e was the addition of camphor
- a derivative of the laurel tree. !his addition made celluloid the first thermoplastic1 a substance molded under
heat and pressure into a shape it retains even after the heat and pressure have been removed. 2elluloid went
on to be used in the first fle#ible photo+raphic film for still and motion pictures.
The Stor o! "akelite
!he first completely synthetic man-made substance was discovered in $.34, when *eo Baekeland, a 5ew 6ork
chemist, developed a li7uid resin that he named Bakelite. Baekeland had developed an apparatus - which he
called a Bakeli8er - that enabled him to vary heat and pressure precisely so as to control the reaction of volatile
chemicals. 9sin+ this pot-like apparatus, Baekeland developed a new li7uid :bakelite resin; that rapidly
hardened and took the shape of its container. <nce hardened, the resin would form an e#act replica of any
vessel that contained it. !his new material would not burn, boil, melt, or dissolve in any commonly available
acid or solvent. !his meant that once it was firmly set, it would never chan+e. !his one benefit made it stand
out from previous =plastics.= While celluloid-based substances could be melted down innumerable times and
reformed, Bakelite was the first thermoset plastic which would retain its shape and form under any
circumstances.
Bakelite could be added to almost any material - such as softwood - and instantly make it more durable and
effective. 5umerous products be+an to be manufactured based on this new material. <ne of the sectors of
society most interested in its development was the military. !he 9> (overnment saw Bakelite openin+ the door
to production of new weaponry and li+htwei+ht war machinery that steel could not match. In fact, Bakelite was
a key in+redient in most of the weapons used in the >econd World War.
Bakelite was also used for domestic purposes such as electrical insulators. For this purpose it proved to be
more effective than any other material available - so effective, in fact, that it is still used as such today.
Bakelite is electrically resistant, chemically stable, heat-resistant, shatter-proof and neither cracks, fades,
creases, nor discolors from e#posure to sunli+ht, dampness or sea salt.
Raon and Cello#hane
?ayon - another modified cellulose - was first developed in $%.$ in Paris by *ouis @arie ,ilaire Berni+aut, the
2ount of 2hardonnet. ,e was searchin+ for a way to produce man-made silk. "fter studyin+ silkworms,
Berni+aut noticed that the worm would secrete a li7uid from a narrow orifice that would harden upon e#posure
to air and turn into silk. ,e deduced that if he could find a li7uid that would have similar characteristics to silk
before bein+ secreted, he could then pass it throu+h a man-made apparatus to form fibers that could be spun
and feel like silk. !he only problem with his new invention was that it was hi+hly flammable. !his problem was
later solved by 2harles !opham.
2ellophane was discovered by -r. 0ac7ues )dwin Brandenber+er, a >wiss te#tile en+ineer, who came upon the
idea for a clear, protective, packa+in+ layer in $.33. Brandenber+er was seated at a restaurant when he
noticed a customer spill a bottle of wine onto the tablecloth. !he waiter removed the cloth replacin+ it with
another and disposed of the soiled one. Brandenber+er swore that he would discover some way to apply a clear
fle#ible film to cloth, which would keep it safe from such accidents and allow it to be easily cleaned with the
swipe of a clean towel. ,e worked on resolvin+ this problem by utili8in+ different materials until he hit paydirt
in $.$A by addin+ Biscose :now known as ?ayon;.
Brandenber+er added viscose to cloth but the end result was a brittle material that was too stiff to be of any
use. 6et Brandenber+er saw another potential for the viscose material. ,e developed a new machine that could
produce viscose sheets, which he marketed as 2ellophane. With a few more improvements, 2ellophane allowed
for a clear layer of packa+in+ for any product - the first fully fle#ible, water-proof wrap.
The Discover o! $lon
!he $.'3s witnessed a =plastics cra8e=, as the use of cellophane spread throu+hout the world.
-uPont, one of the industry leaders, became a hotbed for innovation concernin+ plastics.
Wallace ,ume 2arothers, a youn+ ,arvard chemist, became the head of the -uPont lab. !he
company was responsible for the moisture-proofin+ of 2ellophane and was well on its way to
developin+ 5ylon, which at the time they named Fiber &&. 2arothers saw the possible value
that a new tou+h plastic such as Fiber && could possess. !he fiber replaced animal hair in
toothbrushes and silk stockin+s. !he stockin+s were unveiled in $.A., to +reat public
acceptance. ,. >taudin+er in (ermany was the first to reco+ni8e the structural nature of plastics, but 2arothers
built upon this theory. "s demonstrated by 2arothers, by substitutin+ and insertin+ elements into the chemical
chain, new materials and uses could be developed. -urin+ the $.C3s, the world saw the use of such materials
as nylon, acrylic, neoprene, >B?, polyethylene, and many more polymers take the place of natural material
supplies that were becomin+ e#hausted.
P%C& Saran& and Te!lon
"nother important plastic innovation of the time was the development of polyvinyl chloride :PB2;, or vinyl.
Waldo >emon, a B.F. (oodrich or+anic chemist, was attemptin+ to bind rubber to metal when he stumbled
across PB2. >emon later discovered that this material was ine#pensive, durable, fire-resistant, and easily
molded. Binyl found a special place in the hearts of "mericans as an upholstery material that would last for
years in the avera+e family's livin+ room.
In $.AA, ?alph Wiley, a -ow 2hemical lab worker, accidentally discovered yet another plastic1 polyvinylidene
chloride :better known as >aran;. >aran was first used to protect military e7uipment, but it was later
discovered that it was +reat for food packa+in+. >aran would clin+ to almost any material - bowls, dishes, pots
and even itselfD thus, it became the perfect tool for maintainin+ the freshness of food at home.
" -uPont chemist named ?oy Plunkett discovered !eflon, in $.A%. !eflon today is widely used in
kitchenware. Plunkett discovered the material accidentally by pumpin+ freon +as into a cylinder left in cold
stora+e overni+ht. !he +as dissipated into a solid white powder. !eflon is uni7ue because it is impervious to
acids in addition to both cold and heat. !eflon is now best-known for its slipperiness - which makes it hi+hly
effective in pots and pans for easy cookin+ and cleanin+.
Polethlene
In $.AA, two or+anic chemists workin+ for the Imperial 2hemical Industries ?esearch *aboratory were testin+
various chemicals under hi+hly pressuri8ed conditions. In their wildest ima+inations, the two researchers ).W.
Fawcett and ?.<. (ibson, had no idea that the revolutionary substance they would come across - polyethylene
- would have an enormous impact on the world.
!he researchers set off a reaction between ethylene and ben8aldehyde, utili8in+ two thousand atmospheres of
internal pressure. !he e#periment went askew when their testin+ container spran+ a leak and all of the
pressure escaped. 9pon openin+ the tube they were surprised to find a white, wa#y substance that +reatly
resembled plastic. When the e#periment was carefully repeated and analy8ed the scientists discovered that the
loss of pressure was only partly due to a leakD the +reater reason was the polymeri8ation process that had
occurred leavin+ behind polyethylene. In $.A&, Imperial 2hemical Industries developed a lar+e-volume
compressor that made the production of vast 7uantities of polyethylene possible. !his hi+h-volume production
of polyethylene actually led to some history-makin+ events.
For instance, polyethylene played a key supportin+ role durin+ World War II - first as an underwater cable
coatin+ and then as a critical insulatin+ material for such vital military applications as radar insulation. !his is
because it was so li+ht and thin that it made placin+ radar onto airplanes possibleD somethin+ that could not be
done usin+ traditional insulatin+ materials because they wei+hed too much. In fact, the use of polyethylene as
an insulatin+ material reduced the wei+ht of radars to &33 pounds in $.C3 and even less as the war
pro+ressed. It was these li+htwei+ht radar systems, capable of bein+ carried onboard planes, that allowed the
out-numbered "llied aircraft to detect (erman bombers under such difficult conditions as ni+htfall and
thunderstorms.
It was not until after the war, thou+h, that the material became a tremendous hit with consumers and from
that point on, its rise in popularity has been almost unprecedented. It became the first plastic in the 9nited
>tates to sell more than a billion pounds a year and it is currently the lar+est volume plastic in the world.
!oday, polyethylene is used to make such common items as soda bottles, milk /u+s and +rocery and dry-
cleanin+ ba+s in addition to plastic food stora+e containers.
%elcro

and the Develo#'ent o! Sill Putt

" plastic that has struck the fancy of many youn+sters over the years is plastic putty -- better known as >illy
Putty. 0ames Wri+ht, a () en+ineer, came upon the material by mi#in+ silicone oil with boric acid. !he
compound possessed some rather uni7ue 7ualities. It acted very much like rubber in its ability to rebound
almost 'E percent hi+her than a normal rubber ball. !his =5utty Putty= was also impervious to rot and unable to
maintain a shape for more than a short period of time. It could be stretched many times its len+th without
tearin+. !his material also would copy the ima+e of any printed material that it was pressed upon. In $.C., the
material was sold under the name of >illy Putty, sellin+ faster -- at that time -- than any other toy in history
with over F& million in sales for the year.
!he birth of Belcro, yet another uni7ue plastic product which has impacted nearly all of our lives occurred in
$.E4. " >wiss en+ineer named (eor+e de @aestral was impressed with the way that cockleburs - a type of
ve+etation - would use thousands of tiny hooks to clin+ to anythin+ with which they came into contact. ,e
devised a product, usin+ nylon, that replicated this natural phenomenon. !he result, Belcro, could be spun in
any re7uired thickness, would not rot, mold or naturally de+rade, and was relatively ine#pensive.
Plastics in Modern (i!e
>ince the $.E3s, plastics have +rown into a ma/or industry that affects all of our lives - from providin+
improved packa+in+ to +ivin+ us new te#tiles, to permittin+ the production of wondrous new products and
cuttin+ ed+e technolo+ies in such thin+s as televisions, cars and computers. Plastics even allow doctors to
replace worn-out body parts, enablin+ people to live more productive and lon+er lives. In fact, since $.4&,
plastic has been the most used material in the world and was voted one of the top $33 news events of the
century.
5one of the applications and innovations we take for +ranted would have been possible if it weren't for the
early scientists who developed and refined the material. !hose pioneers made it possible for us to en/oy the
7uality of life we do today.