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Timeline of plastic development

This is a timeline of the development of plastics, comprising key discoveries and developments in the production of plastics.

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Pre 19th Century

YearEventReference
1600 BCMesoamericans use natural rubber for balls, and figurines.1
1000 BCFirst written evidence of Shellac.
Middle AgesEuropeans use 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

YearEventReference
1839Eduard Simon, a German apothecary, discovers polystyrene.2
1844Thomas Hancock patents the vulcanization of rubber in Britain immediately followed by Charles Goodyear in United States.3
1856Parkesine, the first member of the Celluloid class of compounds and considered the first man-made plastic, is patented by Alexander Parkes.4
1869John Wesley Hyatt discovers a method to simplify the production of celluloid, making industrial production possible.
1872PVC is accidentally synthesized in 1872 by German chemist Eugen Baumann.5
1889Eastman Kodak successfully files a patent for celluloid film.6
1890sGalalith, a plastic derived from casein, is developed by Wilhelm Krische and Adolph Spitteler.7
1890sAuguste Trillat discovers the means to insolubilize casein by immersion in formaldehyde, producing material marketed as galalith.8
1894Shellac phonograph records are developed and soon become an industry standard.
1898The German chemist Hans von Pechmann first synthesizes polyethylene while investigating diazomethane.9

20th Century

YearEventReference
1907Bakelite, the first fully synthetic thermoset, is reported by Leo Baekeland using phenol and formaldehyde.
1912After over 10 years' research, Jacques E. Brandenberger develops a method for producing cellophane and secures a patent.10
1926Waldo Semon and the B.F. Goodrich Company develops a method to plasticize PVC by blending it with various additives.
1930Neoprene is produced for the first time at DuPont.11
1930sPolystyrene is first produced by BASF.12
1931RCA Victor introduces its vinyl-based Victrolac compound for records. Vinyl records have twice the groove density of shellac records with good sound quality.
1933The first industrially practical polyethylene synthesis is discovered by Eric Fawcett and Reginald Gibson at the Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) works in Northwich, England.13
1935Nylon is invented and patented by DuPont.14
1938Nylon is first used for bristles in toothbrushes. It features at the 1939 World's Fair and is famously used in stockings in 1940.
1938Polytetrafluoroethylene (commonly known as teflon), discovered by Roy Plunkett at DuPont.
1941Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is discovered at the Calico Printers' Association in Britain. Expanded polystyrene is first produced.15
1950DuPont begin the manufacture of polyester.
1951J. Paul Hogan and Robert L. Banks from Phillips polymerize propylene for the first time to produce polypropylene.
1953Polycarbonate is independently developed by Hermann Schnell at Bayer and Daniel Fox at General Electric.
1954Polypropylene is discovered by Giulio Natta with production starting in 195716
1954Expanded polystyrene, used for building insulation, packaging, and cups, is invented by Dow Chemical.17
1957The Italian firm Montecatini begins large-scale commercial production of isotactic polypropylene.
1960sHigh-density polyethylene bottles are introduced; they will replace glass bottles in most applications.18
1965Kevlar is developed at DuPont by Stephanie Kwolek
1980sPolyester film stock replaces cellulose acetate for photographic film and computer tapes.
1988The first polymer bank notes are issued in Australia

References

  1. 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. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873019 ↩

  2. 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. 978-1-119-88207-7 ↩

  3. 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created. Random House Digital, Inc. 2011. pp. 244–245. ISBN 9780307265722. 9780307265722 ↩

  4. UK Patent office (1857). Patents for inventions. UK Patent office. p. 255. https://books.google.com/books?id=0nCoU-2tAx8C&pg=PA255 ↩

  5. Baumann, E. (1872) "Ueber einige Vinylverbindungen" (On some vinyl compounds), Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie, 163 : 308-322. https://books.google.com/books?id=HNXyAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA308 ↩

  6. Hart-Davis, Adam (2012). Science: the definitive visual guide. London: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 284, 336. ISBN 978-1-4093-8314-7. 978-1-4093-8314-7 ↩

  7. Christel Trimborn (August 2004). "Jewelry Stone Make of Milk". GZ Art+Design. Retrieved 2010-05-17. http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/milk-stone.htm ↩

  8. Christel Trimborn (August 2004). "Jewelry Stone Make of Milk". GZ Art+Design. Retrieved 2010-05-17. http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/milk-stone.htm ↩

  9. 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; … ) http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k90751n/f312.image.langEN ↩

  10. Carlisle, Rodney (2004). Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries, p.338. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New Jersey. ISBN 0-471-24410-4. /wiki/ISBN_(identifier) ↩

  11. Hart-Davis, Adam (2012). Science: the definitive visual guide. London: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 284, 336. ISBN 978-1-4093-8314-7. 978-1-4093-8314-7 ↩

  12. 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. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873019 ↩

  13. "Winnington history in the making". This is Cheshire. 23 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 January 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20100121071050/http://archive.thisischeshire.co.uk/2006/8/23/275808.html ↩

  14. Hart-Davis, Adam (2012). Science: the definitive visual guide. London: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 284, 336. ISBN 978-1-4093-8314-7. 978-1-4093-8314-7 ↩

  15. Hart-Davis, Adam (2012). Science: the definitive visual guide. London: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 284, 336. ISBN 978-1-4093-8314-7. 978-1-4093-8314-7 ↩

  16. 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. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873019 ↩

  17. 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. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2873019 ↩

  18. "The History of soft drink Timeline". Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved 2008-04-23. https://archive.today/20120713013450/http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa091699.htm ↩