This article explores the various uses of synthetic resins in everyday life, their historical origins, development, and future potential. It also discusses the impact of synthetic resins on our lives, the environmental problems they pose, and the research and efforts being made to solve them.
This morning I woke up on a soft and fluffy mattress, which provides me with a comfortable night’s sleep every night. I chose this mattress in particular because of its special expanded polystyrene material, which naturally forms to the curves of your body while providing proper support for your spine. As soon as I wake up, I pick up the bottle of water next to the mattress and gulp it down. The coolness of the water, combined with the freshness of the morning, always puts me in a good mood.
Through the large window in my room, the soft morning sunlight bathes the entire room in a yellowish glow. The window is not just glass, but made of polythene, a material that effectively blocks light and provides insulation in winter. This allows me to maintain a comfortable indoor environment in all seasons. Today is Sunday. Sunday, the most relaxing day of the week, has a special meaning for me. I plan to ride around the neighborhood on my new bike, which I bought for its super comfortable saddle, and then meet up with friends for a game of pool. The bike has a lightweight aluminum frame and a saddle made of polyurethane and technogel, which makes it less tiring to ride for a long time. I’m going to go for a walk on my new bike and then meet up with my friends to play pool.
This is just a short and concise account of my extremely ordinary life, but even in this short story, synthetic resins are deeply involved in our lives, playing a hidden role here and there. From the expanded polystyrene mattress that kept me comfortable all night, to the polyethylene terephthalate water bottle that quenched my thirst in the morning, to the polythene windows that let the morning sun fill the room with light, to the polyurethane and technogel fillers in my bicycle, to the crisp sound of billiard balls hitting each other. In the smallest details of our daily lives, synthetic resins play an important role without making their presence known.
But not many people think about where they came from and how they’ve evolved. Like all human inventions, synthetic resins didn’t come about overnight. They started out as latex, a white liquid harvested from the palm tree used by indigenous peoples in South America. This natural rubber was difficult to hold its shape and sensitive to temperature, limiting its everyday use. This changed in the 20th century, when advances in science and technology led to the development of synthetic rubber. A new material and paradigm was born, and it began to influence many aspects of our lives.
As the era of synthetic resins dawned, new types of synthetic resins continued to be developed. The secret lies in the basic building blocks of synthetic resins: monomers. In simple terms, they are like Lego blocks. They combine together to form long chains, which intertwine with each other to form polymers, which are synthetic resins. Just as LEGO blocks can be assembled in a variety of ways to create different types of creations, so too can synthetic resins be made with different properties depending on how the building blocks are combined.
Let’s take a deeper look at what determines the properties and types of synthetic resins. The type of synthetic resin basically depends on the type of monomer, but it is not the only factor. In addition to the main unit, the addition of secondary units, the length of the chains, the way the chains are arranged, and the use of additives are the main factors that determine the properties of synthetic resins. For example, auxiliary monomers add monomers with different properties than the main monomer to give it new properties. Just as LEGO blocks come in different colors and sizes, the use of different auxiliary monomers can result in resins with completely different properties.
Additives also play a role. Additives are important because they can compensate for the shortcomings of the resin and give it additional properties. There are four main types of additives. First, non-flammable materials reduce the flammability and combustibility of synthetic resins. For example, chlorine or bromine compounds reduce the flammability of synthetic resins, while phosphorus compounds mitigate flammability. Second, softeners increase the flexibility of synthetic resins, making them more versatile. Phthalates and epoxides are typical examples of softeners. Third, fillers increase the volume of the resin, making it more economical. Finally, stabilizers protect the resin from being damaged by the external environment, such as UV light, oxygen, and heat.
These various factors determine the properties of synthetic resins, which is why they have evolved in so many different ways. The possibilities are endless. For example, in recent years, synthetic resins have been developed that are stronger than steel, which has led to the creation of high-performance parts such as airplane wings. While there are limits to what we can get from nature, synthetic resins open up endless possibilities to push the boundaries. For example, if you need a material that is lightweight, resilient, heat-resistant, and electrically conductive at the same time, it would be difficult to find such a material in nature, but synthetic resins can create it. In this way, synthetic resins have given humans the power of the gods.
Of course, there are problems with synthetic resins. Synthetic resins, like plastic bottles and plastic bags, are often blamed for environmental pollution because they take a long time to decompose naturally. However, there are ways to overcome these problems. Currently, many researchers are working on solutions through recycling, and biodegradable synthetic resins are being developed. If these efforts come to fruition, synthetic resins will be able to live in harmony with the environment and lead to more sustainable development.
Today, many people don’t realize how deeply synthetic resins permeate our lives and how important they are. But why not start paying a little more attention to the synthetic resins that are everywhere in our daily lives? This little attention could be the first step towards a better life in the future.
