From Atoms to Macromolecules: 100 Years of Polymer Research

Pp: 212-270 (59)

* (Excluding Mailing and Handling)

In March 1920, Professor Hermann Staudinger coined the term

“macromolecules” to explain the physicochemical behavior of different synthetic and

natural polymers. Far from the skepticism of the scientific community, other

researchers, such as Wallace Carothers, were able to explain not only the synthesis but

also the chemical nature of synthetic polymers by considering Staudinger´s ideas. The

Nobel Prize awarded to Staudinger in 1953 is one of the milestones of a new era in

which polymers and polymer science would certainly change the world. In this review,

the historical evolution of polymer chemistry and that of different synthetic methods to

produce polymers with well-defined molecular architectures are discussed. Different

synthetic methods are reviewed, from classical (ionic, condensation, and coordination)

to recent ones (reversible activation/deactivation using nitroxides, transfer agents or

metal complexes, conducting polymers, and meta thesis polymerization). This review is

expected to be of interest not only to those involved in polymer science but also to

others interested in the development of synthetic chemistry.

Keywords: Free radicals, Historical background, Initiators, Ionic, Macromolecules, Metallocenes, Metathesis, Polycondensations, Polymers, Polyolefins, Reversible deactivation/activation polymerizations.

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DOI https://doi.org/10.2174/9789815039269122160007	Print ISSN 1574-0870
Publisher Name Bentham Science Publisher	Online ISSN 2212-408X

Advances in Organic Synthesis