Polymers as covalent macromolecules (Staudinger)

What was discovered

Against the prevailing view of colloidal aggregates, Staudinger argues that rubber, cellulose and plastics are long chains of units joined by covalent bonds. He founds polymer science.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1953. The hypothesis was rejected for a decade; confirmed by Carothers and by X-ray diffraction.

What it led to

• Polymer chemistry
• Plastics and synthetic fibre industry
• Molecular biology (proteins and DNA as macromolecules)

Built on

• Bakelite1907
• viscometry

Made possible

• Condensation polymerization (Carothers)1929-1935
• Polyethylene1933–1939
• Synthetic rubber (Buna)1909–1935
• Nylon1935–1939
• Ziegler-Natta polymerization catalysts1953-1954

📄 Original publication

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