who invented plastic?

Question

DARE TO ANSWER.

Answer 1

Depends on what you mean by "plastic". Plastics based on natural polymers : rubber, cellulose, or plastics based on only synthetic polymers : "true plastics". The first "true plastic" was Leo Hendrik Baekeland's Bakelite.

"People experimented with plastics based on natural polymers for centuries. In the nineteenth century a plastic material based on chemically modified natural polymers was discovered: Charles Goodyear discovered vulcanization of rubber (1839) and Alexander Parkes, English inventor (1813—1890) created the earliest form of plastic in 1855. He mixed pyroxylin, a partially nitrated form of cellulose (cellulose is the major component of plant cell walls), with alcohol and camphor. This produced a hard but flexible transparent material, which he called "Parkesine"."

"The first plastic based on a synthetic polymer was made from phenol and formaldehyde, with the first viable and cheap synthesis methods invented by Leo Hendrik Baekeland in 1909, the product being known as Bakelite."

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"The development of plastics has come from the use of natural materials (e.g., chewing gum, shellac) to the use of chemically modified natural materials (e.g., natural rubber, nitrocellulose, collagen) and finally to completely synthetic molecules (e.g., epoxy, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene)."

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"An Englishman from Birmingham named Alexander Parkes developed a "synthetic ivory" named "pyroxlin", which he marketed under the trade name "Parkesine", and which won a bronze medal at the 1862 World's fair in London. Parkesine was made from cellulose treated with nitric acid and a solvent. The output of the process hardened into a hard, ivory-like material that could be molded when heated. However, Parkes was not able to scale up the process reliably, and products made from Parkesine quickly warped and cracked after a short period of use."

"Englishmen Daniel Spill and the American John Wesley Hyatt both took up where Parkes left off. Parkes had failed for lack of a proper softener, but they independantly discovered that camphor would work well. Spill launched his product as Xylonite in 1869, while Hyatt patented his "Celluloid" in 1870, naming it after cellulose. Rivalry between Spill's British Xylonite Company and Hyatt's American Celluloid Company led to an expensive decade-long court battle, with neither company being awarded rights, as ultimately Parkes was credited with the product's invention. As a result, both companies operated in parallel on both sides of the Atlantic."

"In 1884, a French chemist, the Comte de Chardonnay, introduced a cellulose-based fabric that became known as "Chardonnay silk". It was an attractive cloth, but like celluloid it was very flammable, a property completely unacceptable in clothing. After some ghastly accidents, Chardonnay silk was taken off the market."

"In 1894, three British inventors, Charles Cross, Edward Bevan, and Clayton Beadle, patented a new "artificial silk" or "art silk" that was much safer. The three men sold the rights for the new fabric to the French Courtauld company, a major manufacturer of silk, which put it into production in 1905, using cellulose from wood pulp as the "feedstock" material."

"Art silk, technically known as Cellulose Acetate, became well known under the trade name "rayon"."

"The limitations of celluloid led to the next major advance, known as "phenolic" or "phenol-formaldehyde" plastics. A chemist named Leo Hendrik Baekeland, a Belgian-born American living in New York state, was searching for an insulating shellac to coat wires in electric motors and generators. Baekeland found that mixtures of phenol (C6H5OH) and formaldehyde (HCOH) formed a sticky mass when mixed together and heated, and the mass became extremely hard if allowed to cool and dry."

"He continued his investigations and found that the material could be mixed with wood flour, asbestos, or slate dust to create "composite" materials with different properties. Most of these compositions were strong and fire resistant. The only problem was that the material tended to foam during synthesis, and the resulting product was of unacceptable quality."

"Baekeland built pressure vessels to force out the bubbles and provide a smooth, uniform product. He publicly announced his discovery in 1912, naming it bakelite. It was originally used for electrical and mechanical parts, finally coming into widespread use in consumer goods in the 1920s. When the Bakelite patent expired in 1930, the Catalin Corporation acquired the patent and began manufacturing Catalin plastic using a different process that allowed a wider range of coloring."

"Bakelite was the first true plastic. It was a purely synthetic material, not based on any material or even molecule found in nature."

"Plastic" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic

Answer 2

English inventor Alexander Parkes (1813—1890) created the earliest form of plastic in 1855. He mixed pyroxylin, a partially nitrated form of cellulose (cellulose is the major component of plant cell walls), with alcohol and camphor. This produced a hard but flexible transparent material, which he called "Parkesine." Parkes teamed up with a manufacturer to produce Parkesine; however, they were unable to market it. The material was so strange and new that no one knew how to use it.

Answer 3

The first plastic based on a synthetic polymer was made from phenol and formaldehyde. It was invented by Leo Henrik Baekeland in 1909 and was called Bakelite.

Answer 4

Its John Weslly Hyatt

Answer 5

Mr. Plastzer of USSR in 1867

Answer 6

William Holden.
(This is a joke folks - could have been Dustin Hoffman!)

Answer 7

see the link I provided below.