Timeline of plastic development
| History of technology |
|---|
This is a timeline of the development of plastics, comprising key discoveries and developments in the production of plastics.
Pre 19th Century
[edit]| Year | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1600 BCE | Mesoamericans used natural rubber for balls, and figurines. | [1] |
| 1000 BCE | First written evidence of Shellac. | |
| Middle Ages | Europeans used treated cow horns as translucent material for windows. Japanese and Chinese use ox horns for the same purpose, as well as for shades of oil lamps. |
19th Century
[edit]| Year | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1839 | Eduard Simon, a German apothecary, discovers polystyrene | [2] |
| 1844 | Thomas Hancock patents the vulcanization of rubber in Britain immediately followed by Charles Goodyear in United States. | [3] |
| 1856 | Parkesine, the first member of the Celluloid class of compounds and considered the first man-made plastic, is patented by Alexander Parkes. | [4] |
| 1869 | John Wesley Hyatt discovers a method to simplify the production of celluloid, making industrial production possible. | |
| 1872 | PVC was accidentally synthesized in 1872 by German chemist Eugen Baumann. | [5] |
| 1889 | Eastman Kodak successfully filed a patent for the celluloid film | [6] |
| 1890s | Galalith, a plastic derived from casein developed by Wilhelm Krische and Adolph Spitteler. | [7] |
| 1890s | Auguste Trillat discovered the means to insolubilize casein by immersion in formaldehyde, producing material marketed as galalith. | [7] |
| 1894 | Shellac phonograph records are developed and soon become an industry standard. | |
| 1898 | Polyethylene was first synthesized by the German chemist Hans von Pechmann while investigating diazomethane. | [8] |
20th Century
[edit]| Year | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1907 | Bakelite, the first fully synthetic thermoset, was reported by Leo Baekeland using phenol and formaldehyde. | |
| 1912 | After over 10 years research, Jacques E. Brandenberger develops a method for producing cellophane and secures a patent. | [9] |
| 1926 | Waldo Semon and the B.F. Goodrich Company developed a method to plasticize PVC by blending it with various additives. | |
| 1930 | Neoprene produced for the first time at DuPont | [6] |
| 1930s | Polystyrene first produced by BASF | [1] |
| 1931 | RCA Victor introduced their vinyl-based Victrolac compound for records. Vinyl records have twice the groove density of shellac records with good sound quality. | |
| 1933 | The first industrially practical polyethylene synthesis discovered by Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson at the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) works in Northwich, England. | [10] |
| 1935 | Nylon is invented and patented by DuPont | [6] |
| 1938 | Nylon is first used for bristles in toothbrushes. It features at the 1939 worlds fair and is famously used in stockings in 1940 | |
| 1938 | Polytetrafluoroethylene (commonly known as teflon), discovered by Roy Plunkett at DuPont. | |
| 1941 | Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is discovered at the Calico Printers' Association in Britain. Expanded polystyrene first produced[6] | |
| 1950 | DuPont begin the manufacture of polyester. | |
| 1951 | J. Paul Hogan and Robert L. Banks from Phillips polymerized propylene for the first time to produce polypropylene | |
| 1953 | Polycarbonate independently developed by Hermann Schnell at Bayer and Daniel Fox at General Electric | |
| 1954 | Polypropylene was discovered by Giulio Natta with production starting in 1957 | [1] |
| 1954 | Expanded polystyrene, used for building insulation, packaging, and cup, was invented by Dow Chemical. | [1] |
| 1957 | Italian firm Montecatini begin large-scale commercial production of isotactic polypropylene. | |
| 1960s | High-density polyethylene bottles introduced and soon replace glass bottles in most applications | [11] |
| 1965 | Kevlar developed at DuPont by Stephanie Kwolek | |
| 1980s | Polyester film stock replaces cellulose acetate for photographic film and computer tapes. | |
| 1988 | First polymer bank notes issued in Australia |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Andrady AL, Neal MA (July 2009). "Applications and societal benefits of plastics". Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 364 (1526): 1977–84. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0304. PMC 2873019. PMID 19528050.
- ^ Greene, Joseph P. (2022-10-11). Sustainable Plastics: Environmental Assessments of Biobased, Biodegradable, and Recycled Plastics. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-88207-7.
- ^ 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. Random House Digital, Inc. 2011. pp. 244–245. ISBN 9780307265722.
- ^ UK Patent office (1857). Patents for inventions. UK Patent office. p. 255.
- ^ Baumann, E. (1872) "Ueber einige Vinylverbindungen" (On some vinyl compounds), Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie, 163 : 308-322.
- ^ a b c d Hart-Davis, Adam (2012). Science: the definitive visual guide. London: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 284, 336. ISBN 978-1-4093-8314-7.
- ^ a b Christel Trimborn (August 2004). "Jewelry Stone Make of Milk". GZ Art+Design. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
- ^ H. von Pechmann (1898) "Ueber Diazomethan und Nitrosoacylamine," Berichte der Deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin, 31 : 2640–2646; see especially page 2643. From page 2643: "Erwähnt sei noch, dass aus einer ätherischen Diazomethanlösung sich beim Stehen manchmal minimale Quantitäten eines weissen, flockigen, aus Chloroform krystallisirenden Körpers abscheiden; … " (It should be mentioned that from an ether solution of diazomethane, upon standing, sometimes small quantities of a white, flakey substance, which can be crystallized from chloroform, precipitate; … )
- ^ Carlisle, Rodney (2004). Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries, p.338. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey. ISBN 0-471-24410-4.
- ^ "Winnington history in the making". This is Cheshire. 23 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
- ^ "The History of soft drink Timeline". Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-23.