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Chapter One
Introduction to Synthetic
Methods in Step-Growth Polymers
Martin E. Rogers
Luna Innovations, Blacksburg, Virginia 24060
Timothy E. Long
Department of Chemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
S. Richard Turner
Eastman Chemical Company, Kingsport, Tennessee 37662
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.1.1 Historical Perspective
Some of the earliest useful polymeric materials, the Bakelite resins formed
from the condensation of phenol and formaldehyde, are examples of step-growth
processes. However, it was not until the pioneering work of Carothers and his
group at DuPont that the fundamental principles of condensation (step-growth)
processes were elucidated and specific step-growth structures were intentionally
synthesized. Although it is generally thought that Carothers' work was limited
to aliphatic polyesters, which ... read full excerpt from Synthetic Methods in Step-Growth Polymers ebook
