Polymer Science and Technology

Since the plastics industry has witnessed a spectacular growth over the last six decades, the acceleration in consumption rates of plastics has taken place in several phases since World War II. In areas of applications of plastics materials, a well-known long-standing example is electrical industries where the excellent combination of properties such as insulation characteristics, toughness, durability, flame retardation capacity has led to increasing acceptance of plastics for plugs, sockets, wire and cable insulations and for housing electrical and electronic equipment. The major polymer targeting industries of the present-day life includes building industry, packaging industries, in retorting method used for food processing industries, wood-plastic composites, polymers in corrosion prevention and control, piping systems, in automotive industries, in aerospace industries and in electrical and electronic industries.

Beside metals and ceramics, the study of polymers has currently become a cornerstone of material sciences and engineering. Polymers have the capacity to solve most of the world's complex problems like Water purification, energy management, oil extraction and recovery, advanced coatings, myriad biomedical applications, building materials, and electrical applications virtually no field of modern life would be possible without polymeric materials. A Polymer Material Sciences and Engineering will provide you with a strong basis in the wide range of issues around structural and functional polymers. This multidisciplinary course is proposed in conjunction with the School of Chemistry allowing you to gain a rich understanding of both traditional commodity plastics and specialty polymers with increasing in the bio medical application and pharmaceutical industry, and in electronics and nanotechnology

Polymer engineering is an engineering field that designs, analyses, or modifies polymer materials. A Polymer is a large molecule or a macro molecule which essentially is a combination of many sub units. The term polymer in Greek means ‘many parts’. Polymers are all created by the process of polymerization wherein their constituent elements called monomers, are reacted together to form polymer chains i.e 3-dimensional networks forming the polymer bonds. Materials of Engineering refers to selecting the correct materials for the application in which the engineered part is being used. This selection process includes choosing the material, paying attention to its specific type or grade based on the required properties.

The field of Nanotechnology is one of the most popular areas for current research and development in basically all technical disciplines. This obviously includes polymer Nanotechnology which include microelectronics. Other areas include polymer-based biomaterials, Nano medicine, Nano emulsion particles; fuel cell electrode polymer bound catalysts, layer-by-layer self-assembled polymer films, electro spun nanofabrication, imprint lithography, polymer blends and Nano composites. Even in the field of nanocomposites, many diverse topics exist including composite reinforcement, barrier properties, flame resistance, electro-optical properties, cosmetic applications, bactericidal properties. Nanotechnology is not new to polymer science as prior studies before the age of nanotechnology involved Nano scale dimensions but were not specifically referred to as nanotechnology until recently. Phase separated polymer blends often achieve Nano scale phase dimensions; block copolymer domain morphology is usually at the Nano scale level; asymmetric membranes often have Nano scale void structure, mini emulsion particles in the large field of nanotechnology, polymer matrix based Nano composites have become a prominent area of current research and development

Polymer chemistry is combining several specialized fields of expertise. It deals not only with the chemical synthesis, Polymer Structures and chemical properties of polymers which were esteemed by Hermann Staudinger as macromolecules but also covers other aspects of Novel synthetic and polymerization methods, Reactions and chemistry of polymers, properties and characterization of polymers, Synthesis and application of polymer bio conjugation and also Polymer Nano composites and architectures. According to IUPAC recommendations, macromolecules are considered relevant to the individual molecular chains and are the domain of chemistry. Industrial polymer chemistry has particular attention on the end-use application of products, with a smaller emphasis on applied research and preparation.

Composite material is a material made from two or more constituent materials with significantly different physical or chemical properties that, when combined, produce a material with characteristics different from the individual components Polymer composites are high-performance composites, framed using 3D   fabric reinforcement and shape memory polymer resin as the matrix. In consideration of shape memory polymer resin used as the matrix, these composites gain the potential to be easily engineered into variety of configurations when they are heated above their activation temperatures and will exhibit high strength and stiffness at lower temperatures. They can also be reheated and reshaped again without losing their properties. Polymer technology has an effective impact in developing advanced polymeric materials which are useful in day to day life. Composite material, the wonder materials are becoming an essential part of today’s materials due to the advantages such as low weight, corrosion resistance, high fatigue strength, and faster assembly. They are broadly used as materials in making aircraft structures, electronic packaging to biomedical equipment, and space vehicle to home building.

Polymer science has always been research strength from thermoplastics to copolymers, thermosets to interpenetrating polymer networks, specialty polymers to composites and Nano composites. Through the period of three decades highly developed or complex polymer composites have come into existence as an attractive construction material for new structures and the strengthening/rehabilitation of currently existing buildings and bridges. The techniques related with the technology, analysis and design of polymer composites in construction are continually being researched and the advancement made with this exciting material will go on at an ever-rising rate to receive the demands of the construction industry. This advanced polymer finds applications not only in construction industry but also plays a major role in health, medicine and in biotechnology. In terms of revenue, the global advanced polymer structures market was valued at US$ 7.47 in 2013 and is expected to reach US$ 12.12 by 2020, expanding at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2014 to 2020.

Biological macromolecules which are necessary for life include carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins. These are the important cellular components and perform a wide array of functions necessary for the survival and growth of living organisms. These play a critical role in cell structure and function. Most biological macromolecules are polymers, which are any molecules constructed by linking together many smaller molecules, called monomers. Typically, all the monomers in a polymer tend to be the same, or at least very similar to each other, linked over and over again to build up the larger macromolecule. These simple monomers can be linked in many different combinations to produce complex biological polymers. The roles of macromolecules in living systems as information storage systems (as DNA) and in biochemical synthesis have been much studied and are relatively well understood and the roles of polymers in biological lubrication and its relation both to diseases such as osteoarthritis and to remedies such as tissue engineering. Protein polymers are available in large quantities in biology, and a huge variety of distinct filaments can be found and Protein misfolding can be a route to pathological polymerization in diseases from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s. Synthetic polymers without difficulty can be formed from peptides and these are being studied for many causes, from forming new biomaterials to drug delivery/imaging. The demand for bio-based polymers is assumed to surge during the estimated period of 2015-2019 owing to the favorable regulatory outlook. The global biomarkers market is expected to reach US $45.55 Billion by 2020 from $24.10 Billion in 2015, at a CAGR of 13.58% through 2015 and 2020.

Polymer physics is the branch of physics which deals with polymers, their fluctuations, mechanical properties, polymer structures and also with the kinetics. Polymer physics encloses the physical properties, structure and dynamics of polymers (both synthetic and naturally occurring) in various forms including semi-crystalline solids, glasses, elastomers, gels, melts, and solutions. Basic phenomena are of interest in accordance with the applications of polymers in technologies, such as optoelectronics, photovoltaic, coatings, composites, medicine, food and pharmacy and tissue engineering

Bioplastics are those types of plastics where carbon is derived from renewable feed stocks. They may be biodegradable or may not be. Basically Bio based plastics are consist of both fossil-fuel-based carbon and renewable. The percentage of bio based ingredients are used is over 70 now a days.Plastics materials are utilized overall today for huge number of utilization. The vast majority of these plastic are gotten from oil and are not biodegradable. The non-inexhaustible sources are diminishing consistently because of the high utilization. Bioplastics are utilized for dispensable things

Polymers are a highly diverse class of materials which are available in all fields of engineering from avionics through biomedical applications, drug delivery system, bio-sensor devices, tissue engineering, cosmetics etc. and the improvement and usage of these depends on polymer applications and data obtained through rigorous testing. The applications of polymeric materials and their composites are still increasing rapidly due to their below average cost and ease of manufacture. This in turn fuels further development in research. Better understanding of the materials properties in diverse environments and temperature ranges is central to sourcing the correct polymer materials to suit the application.

The traditional polymer materials are available today, especially the plastics, which is the result for decades of evolution. Their production is extremely efficient in terms of utilization of raw materials and energy, as well as of waste release. These products show an excellent property like impermeability to water and microorganisms, high mechanical strength, low density especially for transporting goods, and it is low-cost due to manufacturing scale and process optimization. However, some of their most useful features, the chemical, physical and biological inertness, and durability resulted in their accumulation in the environment if not recycled. Unfortunately, the accumulation of plastics, along with other materials, is becoming a serious problem for all countries in the world. These materials occupy significant volume in landfills and dumps today. Recently, the presences of huge amounts of plastic waste items are dumped into the oceans has been observed, considerable part of them coming from the streets, going through the drains with the rain, and then going into the rivers and lakes, and then to the oceans. These materials are harmful for living organism and it can affect the ecosystem too. So, these wastes should be recycled or managed under proper method. As a result, there is a very strong and irreversible movement, in all countries of the world, to use materials that do not harm the planet, that is, low environmental impact materials.