Wallace Carothers was born on April 27, 1896. He started a post-secondary education majoring in chemistry. After graduating, Carothers continued his studies as an organic chemists. He went on to earn a Master's degree and a Ph.D.
Carothers was interested in electronic theory of valence, explaining how atoms bonded together. In 1924, Carothers wrote a paper on electronic natures of the carbon-carbon double bond for the Journal of the American Chemical Society. It sparked his interest in theoretical and experimental chemistry.
Shortly after February 6th 1928, Carothers began studying structure and synthesis of polymers. His boss at the time asked him to research acetylene polymers that might lead to synthetic rubber. He began reacting dibasic acids with diols, today known as esterfication. The result was long chains of molecules called polyesters. After many trials Carothers discovered and concluded that the water product was limiting the length of chain produced.
Chloroprene was discovered in April of …show more content…
He reacted glycols and dibasic acids with strong acids under a reduced pressure in a molecular still. The results of early polyesters, however, were a problem: they had such a low melting point and a high solubility in solvents that they were not viable. After attempts to solve these problems, Carothers discontinued the research. Elmer Bolton encouraged him to not give up on the wider study of fibers. When Carothers renewed his work in that area in early 1934, he used amines rather than glycols to produce polyamides rather than polyesters. Polyamides are synthetically created proteins and are more stable than polyesters, which are similar to natural fat and oil structures. Carothers’s group soon discovered a polyamide fiber. Bolton played a large role in developing the substance, later named
Carothers was interested in electronic theory of valence, explaining how atoms bonded together. In 1924, Carothers wrote a paper on electronic natures of the carbon-carbon double bond for the Journal of the American Chemical Society. It sparked his interest in theoretical and experimental chemistry.
Shortly after February 6th 1928, Carothers began studying structure and synthesis of polymers. His boss at the time asked him to research acetylene polymers that might lead to synthetic rubber. He began reacting dibasic acids with diols, today known as esterfication. The result was long chains of molecules called polyesters. After many trials Carothers discovered and concluded that the water product was limiting the length of chain produced.
Chloroprene was discovered in April of …show more content…
He reacted glycols and dibasic acids with strong acids under a reduced pressure in a molecular still. The results of early polyesters, however, were a problem: they had such a low melting point and a high solubility in solvents that they were not viable. After attempts to solve these problems, Carothers discontinued the research. Elmer Bolton encouraged him to not give up on the wider study of fibers. When Carothers renewed his work in that area in early 1934, he used amines rather than glycols to produce polyamides rather than polyesters. Polyamides are synthetically created proteins and are more stable than polyesters, which are similar to natural fat and oil structures. Carothers’s group soon discovered a polyamide fiber. Bolton played a large role in developing the substance, later named