High Performance Polymers: Their Origin and Development: Proceedings of the Symposium on the History of High Performance Polymers at the American Chemical Society Meeting held in New York, April 15–18, 1986

444 Pages·1986·5.62 MB·English

by  H. Mark (auth.)

High Performance Polymers:
Their Origin and Development
High Performance Polymers:
Their Origin and Development
Proceedings of the Symposium on the History of High Performance
Polymers at the American Chemical Society Meeting held in
New York, April 15-18, 1986.
Editors:
Raymond B. Seymour
University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Gerald S. Kirshenbaum
Celanese Engineering Resins
Chatham, New Jersey
Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, New York 10017
Distributors outside the United States and Canada:
Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, Ltd.
Crown House, Linton Road, Barking, Essex IGll 8J4, England
© 1986 by Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover I st edition 1986
This book has been registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. For further information
please contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., Salem, Massachusetts.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Symposium on the History of High Performance Polymers
(1986 : New York, N.Y.)
High performance polymers, their origin and development.
Includes indexes.
I. Polymers and polymerization - Congresses.
I. Seymour, Raymond Benedict, 1912- . II. Kirshenbaum, Gerald S. III. American
Chemical Society Meeting (191st : 1986: New York, N.Y.) IV. Title.
TPlO8l.S93 1986 668.9 86-24006
ISBN-13: 978-94-011-7075-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-94-011-7073-4
001: 10.1007/978-94-011-7073-4
Current printing (last digit)
10987654321
High Performance Polymers
is dedicated
to our wives,
Frances Seymour
and
Edna Kirshenbaum
vii
Contents
Preface xi
INTRODUCTION
High Performance Polymers - Natural and Synthetic 3
H. Mark (Polytechnic University)
Engineering Plastics: The Concept that Launched an Industry 9
Lawrence H. Gillespie, Jr. (DuPont)
ENGINEERING THERMOPLASTICS 17
Polyamides
The History and Development of Nylon-66 19
Melvin I. Kohan (DuPont)
History and Development of Nylon 6 39
Paul Matthies and Wolfgang F. Seydl (BASF)
The History of Development of Nylons 11 and 12 55
G.B. Apgar and M.J. Koskoski (Atochem)
Polyesters
History - Aromatic Poly carbonates 67
Daniel W. Fox (G. E.)
The History of Poly(Butylene Terephthalate) Molding Resins 71
Donal McNally and John S. Gall (Celanese)
Injection Moldable PET 81
Edward J. Deyrup (DuPont)
History of Polyarylates 95
Lloyd M. Robeson and James M. Tibbitt (Union Carbide)
Acetals
The History of Acetal Homopolymer 105
Kenneth J. Persak and Richard A. Fleming (DuPont)
Acetal Copolymer, A Historical Perspective 115
Thomas J. Dolce and Francis B. McAndrew (Celanese)
Styrenics
A Path to ABS Thermoplastics 125
William A. Pavelich (Borg-Warner)
Styrene-Maleic Anhydride-Vinyl Monomer Terpolymers 131
and Blends
Raymond B. Seymour (University of Southern Mississippi)
viii
Sulfur-Containing Polymers
History of Polyphenylene Sulfide 135
H. Wayne Hill, Jr. (Phillips)
The Development of Polysulfone and Other Polyarylethers 149
R.A. Clendinning, A.G. Farnham, and R.N. Johnson
(Union Carbide)
Polysulfone - Early Market Development Activities 159
M.E. Sauers, L.A. McKenna, and C.N. Merriam
(Union Carbide)
Discovery and Development of the "Victrex" 169
Polyarylethersulphones
John B. Rose (ICI and University of Surrey)
Polyaryletherketone
Discovery and Development of the "Victrex" 187
Polyaryletherketone PEEK
John B. Rose (ICI and University of Surrey)
Polyetherimides
Discovery and Development of Polyetherimides 195
Joseph G. Wirth (G.E.)
BLENDS AND ALLOYS 207
Discovery and Commercialization of Noryl® Resins 209
Allan S. Hay (G. E.)
Xenoy® and Noryl® GTX Engineering Thermoplastic Blends 215
Jean M. Heuschen (G.E.)
History and Development of Interpenetrating Polymer Networks 225
L.H. Sperling (Lehigh University)
LIQUID CRYSTALLINE POLYMERS 233
Industrial Development of Thermotropic Polyesters 235
G.W. Calundann (Celanese)
Early Work on Thermotropic Liquid Crystalline Polymers Having 251
a Rigid-Flexible Regularly Alternating Structure in the Main
Chain
Anselm C. Griffin (University of Southern Mississippi)
FLUOROPLASTICS 259
The History of Polytetrafluoroethylene: Discovery and 261
Development
Roy J. Plunkett (DuPont)
Polytetrafluoroethylene: History of its Development and Some 267
Recent Advances
Carleton A. Sperati (DuPont)
ix
Development of Thermoplastic Fluoropolymers 279
Robert E. Putnam (Dupont)
Development of Kynar Polyvinylidene Fluoride 287
Julius E. Dohany (Penn walt)
THERMOSETS 297
History and Development of Epoxy Resins 299
John A. Gannon (CIBA-GEIGY)
Cyanate Esters - High Performance Resins 309
Richard B. Graver (Celanese)
Polyimides 317
John J. King and Byung H. Lee (CIBA-GEIGY)
UV IEB Curing Technology: A Short History 331
B. Christmas, R. Kemmerer, and F. Kosnik (Celanese)
FIBERS 339
Carbon Fibers, from Light Bulbs to Outer Space 341
Roger Bacon and Charles T. Moses {Union Carbide)
History and Development of Polybenzimidazoles 355
E.J. Powers and G.A. Serad (Celanese)
HIGH PERFORMANCE ELASTOMERS 375
High Performance Elastomers 377
Maurice Morton (University of Akron)
History of Silicone Elastomers 381
F.W. Gordon Fearon (Dow Corning)
Advances in Fluoroelastomers 389
Herman Schroeder (DuPont)
PEBAX® Polyether Block Amide - A New Family of 401
Engineering Thermoplastic Elastomers
Joseph R. Flesher, Jr. (Atochem)
Engineering Polyester Elastomers and the Future for TPE's 409
Louis F. Savelli and Donald F. Brizzolara (DuPont)
HIGH BARRIER PACKAGING MATERIALS 415
PET - A GIobal Perspective 417
Nathaniel C. Wyeth (DuPont)
Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol Copolymers 425
A.L. Blackwell (EVAL Company)
x
Indices
Author Index 437
Company Index 439
Subject Index 443
xi
PREFACE
According to Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe's (1740-1832) Mineralogy and
Geology, "The history of science is science."
A sesquicentennial later, one may state that the history of high
performance polymers is the science of these important engineering polymers.
Many of the inventors of these superior materials of construction have stood
on the thresholds of the new and have recounted their experiences (trials,
tribulations and satisfactions) in the symposium and in their chapters in
this book.
Those who have not accepted the historical approach in the past, should
now recognize the value of the historical viewpoint for studying new
developments, such as general purpose polymers and, to a greater degree, the
high performance polymers.
To put polymer science into its proper perspective, its worth recalling
that historically, the ages of civilization have been named according to the
materials that dominated that period. First there was the Stone Age
eventually followed by the Tin, Bronze, Iron and Steel Ages. Today many
historians consider us living in the Age of Synthetics: Polymers, Fibers,
Plastics, Elastomers, Films, Coatings, Adhesives, etc. It is also
interesting to note that in the early 1980's, Lord Todd, then President of
the Royal Society of Chemistry was asked what has been chemistry's biggest
contribution to society. He felt that despite all the marvelous medical
advances, chemistry's biggest contribution was the development of polymeri
zation.
Man's knowledge of polymer science is so new that Professor Herman F.
Mark, the author of the first Chapter and a polymer science pioneer, has
lived to see the first acceptance of the concept of the existence of chain
like macromolecules, the development of a multi-billion dollar industry
based on general purpose polymers, and now a higher order of polymers which
includes those which outperform all other materials of construction. Since
synthetic polymers are so new it is important to record each historical
breakthrough by the actual inventors and that is the purpose of this book
and the ACS Symposium upon which the book is based.
Polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride, and polystyrene are good enough to
justify annual sales of a score of millions of tons. Yet, they are not
satisfactory for use at the temperature of boiling water. Thus, there was
a need for polymers with greater strength and greater resistance to elevated
temperatures. Fortunately, this need was fulfilled by the authors of the
chapters in this book. Otherwise, our modern systems of transportation,
construction, and communications would be nonexistant.
As stated in the first few chapters, much of the early developments in
engineering plastics were associated with nylon-66. Nylon-66 fibers, which
were invented by pioneer polymer scientist, Dr. W. H. Carothers, were one
of the many polymers that were essential for the war effort by the Allied
Forces during World War II.
The injection molding of these polymers provided a processable material
of construction which could outperform classic materials, such as metals
and ceramics. This important development, which has continued for a half a
century, has led to other significant developments in other fields, which
heretofore, would be considered impossible. As stated by Lawrence