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Charles Sundy Schollenberger (August 8, 1922 [1] - January 25, 2002 [2] ) was an American chemist. He invented the first thermoplastic polyurethane (Estane). [3]
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2022) |
Charles Sundy Schollenberger (August 8, 1922 [1] - January 25, 2002 [2] ) was an American chemist. He invented the first thermoplastic polyurethane (Estane). [3]
Schollenberger was born in 1922, on the campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, to agronomist Charles Jay and Anne (Sundy) Schollenberger. [4] His childhood interest in chemistry began when his father let him perform experiments in his lab.
Schollenberger graduated from Wooster High School in 1940. He earned an AB degree in chemistry from the College of Wooster in 1943. [5] He completed his doctoral degree in organic chemistry in 1947 at Cornell University.
On October 15, 1949, he married Katharine Rosanne Kennon. In 2009, son Charles David Schollenberger set up the Charles Schollenberger Arboretum Visitors Center Biological Lab Endowment at Ohio State University.
Schollenberger was hired at B. F. Goodrich in 1947 by Waldo Semon, helping to open a new research center in Brecksville, Ohio in 1948. In 1952, Schollenberger patented the first thermoplastic polyurethane. [6] He continued developing the product [7] until 1958 when the new material debuted under the trade name Estane. [8] It is a strong, flexible, abrasion-resistant material that was used in textile coatings, tennis shoe soles, automobile parts, as well as magnetic tape. Schollenberg was promoted to R&D Fellow - the highest research position at Goodrich in 1975. He was a prolific inventor, with 18 U.S. and 10 foreign patents. Schollenberger retired in 1984, when Estane accounted for roughly one third of specialty chemical sales at the company.
Polyurethane refers to a class of polymers composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane is produced from a wide range of starting materials. This chemical variety produces polyurethanes with different chemical structures leading to many different applications. These include rigid and flexible foams, and coatings, adhesives, electrical potting compounds, and fibers such as spandex and polyurethane laminate (PUL). Foams are the largest application accounting for 67% of all polyurethane produced in 2016.
Waldo Lonsbury Semon was an American inventor born in Demopolis, Alabama. He is credited with inventing methods for making polyvinyl chloride useful.
Polymer chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that focuses on the structures of chemicals, chemical synthesis, and chemical and physical properties of polymers and macromolecules. The principles and methods used within polymer chemistry are also applicable through a wide range of other chemistry sub-disciplines like organic chemistry, analytical chemistry, and physical chemistry. Many materials have polymeric structures, from fully inorganic metals and ceramics to DNA and other biological molecules. However, polymer chemistry is typically related to synthetic and organic compositions. Synthetic polymers are ubiquitous in commercial materials and products in everyday use, such as plastics, and rubbers, and are major components of composite materials. Polymer chemistry can also be included in the broader fields of polymer science or even nanotechnology, both of which can be described as encompassing polymer physics and polymer engineering.
In organic chemistry, a polyol is an organic compound containing multiple hydroxyl groups. The term "polyol" can have slightly different meanings depending on whether it is used in food science or polymer chemistry. Polyols containing two, three and four hydroxyl groups are diols, triols, and tetrols, respectively.
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptability, plus a wide range of other properties, such as being lightweight, durable, flexible, and inexpensive to produce, has led to its widespread use. Plastics typically are made through human industrial systems. Most modern plastics are derived from fossil fuel-based chemicals like natural gas or petroleum; however, recent industrial methods use variants made from renewable materials, such as corn or cotton derivatives.
The Charles Goodyear Medal is the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society, Rubber Division. Established in 1941, the award is named after Charles Goodyear, the discoverer of vulcanization, and consists of a gold medal, a framed certificate and prize money. The medal honors individuals for "outstanding invention, innovation, or development which has resulted in a significant change or contribution to the nature of the rubber industry". Awardees give a lecture at an ACS Rubber Division meeting, and publish a review of their work in the society's scientific journal Rubber Chemistry and Technology.
The Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award is a professional award conferred by the ACS Rubber Division. Established in 1983, the award is named after Melvin Mooney, developer of the Mooney viscometer and of the Mooney-Rivlin hyperelastic law. The award consists of an engraved plaque and prize money. The medal honors individuals "who have exhibited exceptional technical competency by making significant and repeated contributions to rubber science and technology".
Rubber Chemistry and Technology is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering fundamental research and technical developments relating to chemistry, materials science, and engineering of rubber, elastomers, and related materials. It was established in 1928, with Carroll C. Davis as its first editor-in-chief. The current editor-in-chief is Christopher G. Robertson. The journal is published by the ACS Rubber Division. The journal currently publishes four issues per year containing original research contributions and review articles.
David Spence was one of the pioneering rubber chemists. He helped the war effort during the Second World War by devising new ways of extracting natural rubbers from plants, and worked to improve the processing of the rubber. Over the course of his career, he worked to improve the dyeing processes for rubber products and the vulcanization of rubber, and in developing new accelerants for strengthening lower-quality natural rubber. In 1941, he became the first recipient of the Charles Goodyear Medal, awarded by the American Chemical Society.
Herman E. Schroeder was a research director at DuPont, inventor of the first practical adhesive for bonding rubber to nylon for B29 bomber tires, and a pioneer in the development of specialty elastomers.
Samuel Emmett Horne Jr. was a research scientist at B. F. Goodrich noted for first synthesizing cis-1,4-polyisoprene, the main polymer contained in natural tree rubber, using Ziegler catalysis. Earlier attempts to produce synthetic rubber from isoprene had been unsuccessful, but in 1955, Horne prepared 98 percent cis-1,4-polyisoprene via the stereospecific polymerization of isoprene. The product of this reaction differs from natural rubber only slightly. It contains a small amount of cis-1,2-polyisoprene, but it is indistinguishable from natural rubber in its physical properties.
Charles Michael Roland was Head of the Polymer Physics Section at the Naval Research Lab in Washington DC from 1989 to 2015. His research was concerned primarily with the dynamics of condensed matter, including polymers and liquid crystals, with applications to military armor and infrastructure protection. He is noted for his development of elastomeric coatings for blast protection, and for diverse accomplishments in the field of elastomer science. From 1991-1999, he served as the 8th editor of the scientific journal Rubber Chemistry and Technology, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining (UK).
Aubert Y. Coran (1932-2020) was an American scientist noted for his contributions to thermoplastic elastomers and vulcanization chemistry of rubber. In 1983, he won the Melvin Mooney Distinguished Technology Award, bestowed by the American Chemical Society to individuals "who have exhibited exceptional technical competency by making significant and repeated contributions to rubber science and technology". In 1995, the rubber division of the American Chemical Society bestowed on Coran the Charles Goodyear Medal in honor of his international contributions to polymer science and development.
Arthur Edgar Juve (1901–1965) was a B. F. Goodrich Director of Technology who developed oil-resistant rubber compositions, lab tests for tire treads, and improvements in manufacture of rubber products and the processing of synthetic rubber.
Charles C. Price was an American chemist and president of the American Chemical Society (1965). He taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Judit Puskas is a Distinguished Ohio State University professor noted as co-inventor of the polymer used on the Taxus-brand coronary stent. She is the first woman to win the Charles Goodyear Medal, the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society's Rubber Division. Her research focuses on polymer engineering for breast reconstruction in cancer treatment, green polymer chemistry, biomimetic processes, biomaterials, living polymerization, polymerization mechanisms and kinetics, thermoplastic elastomers, polymer structure/property relationships, and polymer-bio interfaces.
Albert M. Gessler was an ExxonMobil research chemist known for the development of elastomeric thermoplastics.
Stuart L. Cooper is an American engineer. As a Full Professor and Chair of Ohio State University's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cooper was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2011.
Henry L. Hsieh was a Phillips Petroleum scientist known for contributions to polymerization chemistry, specifically anionic polymerization.
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