Chapter One
The Historical Development
of Polyesters
J. E. McINTYRE
3 Rossett Gardens, Harrogate, HG2 9PP, UK
1 INTRODUCTION
Strictly speaking, the term polyester ought to refer to a chemical compound containing
many ester groups in each molecule. In practice, however, it usually refers
to polymeric materials containing ester groups as major structural components of
the main chains of the macromolecules of which the polymer is composed, and
this is the sense in which it is used here. The term is not now usually applied
to polymers that contain ester groups attached to the main chain either directly,
as in cellulose triacetate, poly(vinyl acetate) or poly(methyl acrylate), or within
short side-chains.
There has in the past been some confusion in the use of the term alkyd, which
is said to have been derived from alcohol plus acid. The definition offered by
Kienle, discussed later, is broad enough to include all polyesters derived
essentially from diols and dicarboxylic acids, and consequently linear ... read full excerpt from Modern Polyesters: Chemistry and Technology of Polyesters and Copolyesters ebook
