Acrylic, polyethylene, nylon, polystyrene – synthetic materials are widely used and are employed in almost all areas of life.

Celluloid, which was developed in the 1860s, was one of the first synthetic materials. It was created by chemically modifying cellulose molecules found in plants. The material was used in the production of high-quality commodities instead of ivory. In 1889, George Eastman began using celluloid for photographic film. However, the drawback with the material was that it was highly flammable and faded easily in light.

In 1862, Alexander Parkes had manufactured a hard material, which could be moulded into forms. “Parkesin” was the first semi-synthetic material.

The Belgian-born chemist, Leo Hendrik Baekeland, developed the first fully synthetic material in 1906 called “Bakelite”. The remarkable thing about this material was that, when heated, it hardened rather than melted.

In the 1920s and ‘30s, processes for manufacturing synthetic materials from petroleum were developed. Soon, materials with a great variety of characteristics such as heat resistance, formability or electrical conductivity existed.

Polymethyl methacrylate, introduced onto the market as “Plexiglas”, is one the most well-known synthetic materials to be invented during this time. Polytetrafluoroethylene, first manufactured in 1938, was sold under the name “Teflon” from 1943 onwards.

The different material characteristics of synthetic materials are well-known from everyday life. A plastic bag, for instance, melts at high temperatures whilst a wooden spoon remains intact. We also know synthetic materials which retain their form even when force is applied and others which can be stretched and later return to their original form. These basic characteristics are also drawn upon to classify synthetic materials: thermally deformable materials are called thermoplastics, heat resistant materials are called thermosetting plastics and elastic materials are termed elastomers.

Synthetic materials consist of giant molecules, which are built up during the process of polymerisation. Their special characteristics depend on the interconnection of their macromolecules. In thermoplastics, for instance, the macromolecules are mainly next to each other. If this kind of synthetic material is heated, the molecules can slide over each other and the object deforms. When cooling, the synthetic material hardens and takes on a new form.

Thermosetting plastics, in contrast, are created from macromolecules, which are meshed together closely. Firm bonds arise between the molecules with the result that the molecules cannot slide over each other when heated.