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Synthetic fiber

February 15, 2024

Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres (in British English; see spelling differences) are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis, as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms, such as plants (like cotton) or fur from animals. They are the result of extensive research by scientists to replicate naturally occurring animal and plant fibers. In general, synthetic fibers are created by extruding fiber-forming materials through spinnerets, forming a fiber. These are called synthetic or artificial fibers. The word polymer comes from a Greek prefix "poly" which means "many" and suffix "mer" which means "single units". (Note: each single unit of a polymer is called a monomer).

The first synthetic fibres edit

Nylon was the first commercially successful synthetic thermoplastic polymer. DuPont began its research project in 1927. The first nylon, nylon 66, was synthesized on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Hume Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station.

The next step was taken by Hilaire de Chardonnet, a French engineer and industrialist, who invented the first artificial silk, which he called "Chardonnet silk". In the late 1870s, Chardonnet was working with Louis Pasteur on a remedy to the epidemic that was destroying French silkworms. Failure to clean up a spill in the darkroom resulted in Chardonnet's discovery of nitrocellulose as a potential replacement for real silk. Realizing the value of such a discovery, Chardonnet began to develop his new product,[1] which he displayed at the Paris Exhibition of 1889.[2] Chardonnet's material was extremely flammable, and subsequently replaced with other, more stable materials.

Commercial products edit

 
Nylon was first synthesized by Wallace Carothers at DuPont.

The first successful process was developed in 1894 by English chemist Charles Frederick Cross, and his collaborators Edward John Bevan and Clayton Beadle. They named the fiber "viscose", because the reaction product of carbon disulfide and cellulose in basic conditions gave a highly viscous solution of xanthate.[3] The first commercial viscose rayon was produced by the UK company Courtaulds in 1905. The name "rayon" was adopted in 1924, with "viscose" being used for the viscous organic liquid used to make both rayon and cellophane. A similar product known as cellulose acetate was discovered in 1865. Rayon and acetate are both artificial fibers, but not truly synthetic, being made from wood.[4]

Nylon, the first synthetic fiber in the "fully synthetic" sense of that term,[citation needed] was developed by Wallace Carothers, an American researcher at the chemical firm DuPont in the 1930s. It soon made its debut in the United States as a replacement for silk, just in time for the introduction of rationing during World War II. Its novel use as a material for women's stockings overshadowed more practical uses, such as a replacement for the silk in parachutes and other military uses like ropes.

The first polyester fiber was patented in Britain in 1928 by the International General Electric company.[5] It was also produced by British chemists working at the Calico Printers' Association, John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson,[6][7] in 1941. They produced and patented one of the first polyester fibers which they named Terylene, also known as Dacron, equal to or surpassing nylon in toughness and resilience.[8] ICI and DuPont went on to produce their own versions of the fiber.

The world production of synthetic fibers was 55.2 million tonnes in 2014.[9]

Descriptions edit

 
A device for spinning Viscose Rayon dating from 1901

About half of all fibres are synthetic, with applications in every field of fiber and textile technology. Although many classes of fibers based on synthetic polymers have been evaluated as potentially valuable commercial products, four of them - nylon, polyester, acrylic and polyolefin - dominate the market. These four account for approximately 98 percent by volume of synthetic fiber production, with polyester alone accounting for around 60 percent.[10]

Synthetic fibers are a source of microplastic pollution from laundry machines.[11]


Common synthetic fibers edit

Common synthetic fibers include:

Specialty synthetic fibers include:

[citation needed]

Other synthetic materials used in fibers include:

Modern fibers that are made from older artificial materials include:

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Garrett, Alfred (1963). The Flash of Genius. Princeton, New Jersey: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. pp. 48–49.
  2. ^ Inventive Genius. New York: Time-Life Books. 1991. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-8094-7699-2.
  3. ^ Day, Lance; Ian McNeil (1998). Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology. Taylor & Francis. p. 113. ISBN 978-0415193993.
  4. ^ Woodings, Calvin R. "A Brief History of Regenerated Cellulosic fibers". WOODINGS CONSULTING LTD. from the original on 22 April 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  5. ^ Loasby, G. (1951). "The Development of the Synthetic Fibres". Journal of the Textile Institute Proceedings. 42 (8): P411–P441. doi:10.1080/19447015108663852.
  6. ^ World of Chemistry. Thomson Gale. 2005. from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2009.
  7. ^ Allen, P (1967). "Obituary". Chemistry in Britain.
  8. ^ Frank Greenaway, 'Whinfield, John Rex (1901–1966)', rev. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 20 June 2011
  9. ^ Man-Made Fibers Continue To Grow 28 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Textile World
  10. ^ J E McIntyre, Professor Emeritus of Textile Industries, University of Leeds, UK (ed.). . Woodhead Publishing - Series in Textiles. Vol. 36. Cambridge. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  11. ^ Katsnelson, Alla (2015). "News Feature: Microplastics present pollution puzzle". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (18): 5547–5549. Bibcode:2015PNAS..112.5547K. doi:10.1073/pnas.1504135112. PMC 4426466. PMID 25944930.

Further reading edit

  • The original source of this article and much of the synthetic fiber articles (copied with permission) is Whole Earth magazine, No. 90, Summer 1997. www.wholeearth.com 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine

February 15, 2024
synthetic, fiber, synthetic, fibres, british, english, spelling, differences, fibers, made, humans, through, chemical, synthesis, opposed, natural, fibers, that, directly, derived, from, living, organisms, such, plants, like, cotton, from, animals, they, resul. Synthetic fibers or synthetic fibres in British English see spelling differences are fibers made by humans through chemical synthesis as opposed to natural fibers that are directly derived from living organisms such as plants like cotton or fur from animals They are the result of extensive research by scientists to replicate naturally occurring animal and plant fibers In general synthetic fibers are created by extruding fiber forming materials through spinnerets forming a fiber These are called synthetic or artificial fibers The word polymer comes from a Greek prefix poly which means many and suffix mer which means single units Note each single unit of a polymer is called a monomer Contents 1 The first synthetic fibres 2 Commercial products 3 Descriptions 4 Common synthetic fibers 5 See also 6 References 7 Further readingThe first synthetic fibres editNylon was the first commercially successful synthetic thermoplastic polymer DuPont began its research project in 1927 The first nylon nylon 66 was synthesized on February 28 1935 by Wallace Hume Carothers at DuPont s research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station The next step was taken by Hilaire de Chardonnet a French engineer and industrialist who invented the first artificial silk which he called Chardonnet silk In the late 1870s Chardonnet was working with Louis Pasteur on a remedy to the epidemic that was destroying French silkworms Failure to clean up a spill in the darkroom resulted in Chardonnet s discovery of nitrocellulose as a potential replacement for real silk Realizing the value of such a discovery Chardonnet began to develop his new product 1 which he displayed at the Paris Exhibition of 1889 2 Chardonnet s material was extremely flammable and subsequently replaced with other more stable materials Commercial products edit nbsp Nylon was first synthesized by Wallace Carothers at DuPont The first successful process was developed in 1894 by English chemist Charles Frederick Cross and his collaborators Edward John Bevan and Clayton Beadle They named the fiber viscose because the reaction product of carbon disulfide and cellulose in basic conditions gave a highly viscous solution of xanthate 3 The first commercial viscose rayon was produced by the UK company Courtaulds in 1905 The name rayon was adopted in 1924 with viscose being used for the viscous organic liquid used to make both rayon and cellophane A similar product known as cellulose acetate was discovered in 1865 Rayon and acetate are both artificial fibers but not truly synthetic being made from wood 4 Nylon the first synthetic fiber in the fully synthetic sense of that term citation needed was developed by Wallace Carothers an American researcher at the chemical firm DuPont in the 1930s It soon made its debut in the United States as a replacement for silk just in time for the introduction of rationing during World War II Its novel use as a material for women s stockings overshadowed more practical uses such as a replacement for the silk in parachutes and other military uses like ropes The first polyester fiber was patented in Britain in 1928 by the International General Electric company 5 It was also produced by British chemists working at the Calico Printers Association John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson 6 7 in 1941 They produced and patented one of the first polyester fibers which they named Terylene also known as Dacron equal to or surpassing nylon in toughness and resilience 8 ICI and DuPont went on to produce their own versions of the fiber The world production of synthetic fibers was 55 2 million tonnes in 2014 9 Descriptions edit nbsp A device for spinning Viscose Rayon dating from 1901About half of all fibres are synthetic with applications in every field of fiber and textile technology Although many classes of fibers based on synthetic polymers have been evaluated as potentially valuable commercial products four of them nylon polyester acrylic and polyolefin dominate the market These four account for approximately 98 percent by volume of synthetic fiber production with polyester alone accounting for around 60 percent 10 Synthetic fibers are a source of microplastic pollution from laundry machines 11 Common synthetic fibers editCommon synthetic fibers include Nylon 1931 Modacrylic 1949 Olefin 1949 Acrylic 1950 Polyester 1953 Specialty synthetic fibers include Rayon 1894 artificial silk Vinyon 1939 Saran 1941 Spandex 1959 Vinalon 1939 Aramids 1961 known as Nomex Kevlar and Twaron Modal 1960s Dyneema Spectra 1979 PBI Polybenzimidazole fiber 1983 Sulfar 1983 Lyocell 1992 artificial not synthetic PLA 2002 M 5 PIPD fiber Orlon Zylon PBO fiber Vectran TLCP fiber made from Vectra LCP polymer Derclon used in manufacture of rugs citation needed Other synthetic materials used in fibers include Acrylonitrile rubber 1930 Modern fibers that are made from older artificial materials include Glass fiber 1938 is used for industrial automotive and home insulation glass wool reinforcement of composite materials glass reinforced plastic glass fiber reinforced concrete specialty papers in battery separators and filtration Metallic fiber 1946 is used for adding metallic properties to clothing for the purpose of fashion usually made with composite plastic and metal foils elimination and prevention of static charge build up conducting electricity to transmit information conduction of heat citation needed See also editArtificial turf Elasterell Rope DelustrantReferences edit Garrett Alfred 1963 The Flash of Genius Princeton New Jersey D Van Nostrand Company Inc pp 48 49 Inventive Genius New York Time Life Books 1991 p 52 ISBN 978 0 8094 7699 2 Day Lance Ian McNeil 1998 Biographical Dictionary of the History of Technology Taylor amp Francis p 113 ISBN 978 0415193993 Woodings Calvin R A Brief History of Regenerated Cellulosic fibers WOODINGS CONSULTING LTD Archived from the original on 22 April 2012 Retrieved 26 May 2012 Loasby G 1951 The Development of the Synthetic Fibres Journal of the Textile Institute Proceedings 42 8 P411 P441 doi 10 1080 19447015108663852 World of Chemistry Thomson Gale 2005 Archived from the original on 28 October 2009 Retrieved 1 November 2009 Allen P 1967 Obituary Chemistry in Britain Frank Greenaway Whinfield John Rex 1901 1966 rev Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004 accessed 20 June 2011 Man Made Fibers Continue To Grow Archived 28 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Textile World J E McIntyre Professor Emeritus of Textile Industries University of Leeds UK ed Synthetic fibers Nylon polyester acrylic polyolefin Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles Vol 36 Cambridge Archived from the original on 17 July 2011 Retrieved 21 April 2010 Katsnelson Alla 2015 News Feature Microplastics present pollution puzzle Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112 18 5547 5549 Bibcode 2015PNAS 112 5547K doi 10 1073 pnas 1504135112 PMC 4426466 PMID 25944930 Further reading editThe original source of this article and much of the synthetic fiber articles copied with permission is Whole Earth magazine No 90 Summer 1997 www wholeearth com Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Synthetic fiber amp oldid 1206362785, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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