Synthetic fibers and

plastics
class VIII
By – Akshat
Bhardwaj
Index

Fibres
• Types of fibers
• Monomers and polymers
• Polymerization
• Polymers may be natural or synthetic
Plastic products
• Raw materials for synthetic
Index
Synthetic Fibres
• Rayon
• Nylon
• Polyester
• Acrylic
• Lycra or Spandex
Plastics
• Types of plastics
• Plastics and there uses
Fibres
 Types of fibers

Natural Synthetic
fibers fibres
Natural and synthetic
Natural Synthetic fibres are
fibers man-made fibres.
come Synthetic fibres are
made from different
from chemicals, hence
natural each kind of
sources synthetic fibres have
their own properties.
like Synthetic fibres are
plants more in length and
and are long lasting. The
only limitation in
animals. synthetic fibres is
that they are poor
absorbents of
moisture and they
catch fire easily
Monomers And Polymers
 Substances are made of very small
PARTICLES.
 A single unit which makes a large
molecule by the repeated
combination of small unit is called
as Monomer
 A Polymer is a large molecule made
up of a combination of a large
number of small repeated units.
This large molecule is called as
Polymer and large number of small
repeated units is called as Polymer
Polymerisation
Polymerisation

The reaction in which a many number of

small repeating units ‘ monomer’ are
joined together to form a large molecule
‘polymer’ under suitable conditions of
temperature and pressure is called
Polymerisation Reaction.
Polymers may be natural…….

Natural polymers:
 Natural fibers like cotton, wool and
silk are polymers.
 Cotton is a polymer glucose.
 Wool and silk are the polymers of
amino-acid (protein).
 Spider silk is one of the strongest
natural polymers
Polymers can be synthetic

Synthetic polymers:
 Synthetic polymers are made from
chemical substances. They are
plastic in nature .
 Nylon and polyster are synthetic
fibres

Example: Next slide

Polymers Example
 Ethylene is a monomer obtained from
petroleum. It’s chemical formula CH2. During
polymerization many units of ethylene gets
linked to form a chain
CH2 CH
2
as CHfollows:
2 2 CH CH
2

This polymer is polyethylene, a kind of plastic-

polythene

 Some polymers are made of two or more

units. Example : nylon which is made of
amine and adipi cacid. Like this:
 Plastic
products
Raw materials for synthetics
Synthetic polymers :
 Scientists evolved a mechanism
to polymerize the monomers of
certain substances like rubber,
silicone and petroleum products
such as ethane, propane,
benzene, toluene, styrene, ester,
and others.
 All these are raw materials
for synthetic plastics
Synthetic
Fibers
 In the east, including India, cotton, wool and silk and in
the west it was leather, wool and fur which were the
first materials to be used for clothings. Other natural
fibres were also being used in different parts of the
country depending upon their availability.
 It was towards the 1930s that synthetic fibre was
developed.
 Most synthetic fibres are obtained from petroleum
products, natural gas and coal by the process of
polymerization.
Rayon
 Rayon is prepared from cellulose. Cellulose was
converted into Rayon by using many chemicals
and by following many steps. Though cellulose is
a natural polymer it needs extensive chemical
treatment to form rayon. Hence it is also
considered as a semi-synthetic fibre. It is also
called as ‘ Regenerated Fibre’
 Advantage of rayon :
 it is cheaper to produce as compared to

cotton itself since waste cotton and paper is

used for making rayon.
 Secondly, rayon can be blended with other

fibres like wool and silk.

 easily
dyed
and
wooven
into
cloth

good
absorbe Properties drapes
nt of
sweat
of rayon well

lustrous
in
appeara
nce
 Mixed with
fibre glass
Dress for making
material helmets
because it
Reinforcing
is soft,
nylon tyres
silky and
moisture
absorbent

Uses of
Curtains
because it
drapes well
rayon Reinforcing
nylon tyres

Upholstery
for luxury
cars and Reinforcing
officeand nylon tyres
home
furnishings
Nylon
 Nylon was first developed by
American scientist, Wallace H.
Carothers for M/S Dupont de Nemours
& Company of America in 1935.
Chemically it is a ‘polyamide’, a
polymer. It is the strongest synthetic
plastic material which can be moulded
to any shape. Nylon has many uses as
fibre, as sheet and as moulded solids.
People believe that nylon has been
named since its products were
 toughest
elastic
material

is lustrous
high tensile
and easy to
strength
wash

Properties
can be made
of nylon slightly
water
into palates
absorbent,
or powdered
dries quickly

It can be
resists oil, moulded
grease, into fibres,
moths, bristles,
fungus and sheets, rods,
other pests tubes and
coatings
 Stretchable
wears
Making
Seatbelts
sarees

Fishing nets
and fishing Upholstery
lines

Uses
of
Mountaineer
Tracksuits ing
ropes

Raincoats.
nylon Reel thread

swimming
Thread
wears
Parachutes
Polyester
Esters are compounds with fruity odour .
Alcohol and organic acid react together to
make compounds called esters which are
polymers. These are therefore called
polyesters.
If different alcohols and acids are used,
different kinds of polyesters are made.
Polyesters come under the brand names of
‘Terylene’, ‘Dacron’, ‘Terene’ and ‘Polyester’.
Polyester is blended with cotton and wool in
different ratios to obtain polycot or terrycot
(polyester cotton) and polywool or terrywool
(polyester wool) which is easily
 Resistant
to pests
and
chemicals

Tough,
light
Dries
weight
quickly
and
elastic Properties
of
polyester

Forms a
Easy to
permanen
wash,
t crease if
does not
heated
shrink or
and
stretch
pressed
 Making
magnetic audio
and video
cassattes and
floppy disks.

Uses of
Mixed with
fibre glass for
polyester
Highly suitable
moulding it for shirting,
into helmets, suiting, sarees
protective and draperies
sheets and
hulls in boats
PET
PET is a very familiar form of
polyester. It is used for making bottles, utensils,
films, wires and many other useful products.
PET means Polyethylene terephthalate
Acrylic

Acrylic fibre is commonly known by

different trade names such as ‘Acrilan’,
Orlon’, ‘Creslan’, and ‘Zefran’. It is a
synthetic wool-like fibre with crimps
 Resistant
to moths

Can be Soft with

dyed in crimps
different resembling
colors wool

Properties
of acrylic

Also Is durable
available in light and
sheets washable

Strong and
stain
resistant
 Acrylic knitting
wool is good for
baby wears
because they are
soft, warm and
washable.

Uses of
A transparent
type of acrylic is
acrylic Used for making
used to cover
artificial fur,
automobile
blankets,
lights, lenses
carpets etc.
surgical tools
etc
Lycra or Spandex

It is fibre with great elasticity that

stretches upto 600 times with the
ability to return to its original shape
intact. It is greatly used by stage
performers who require cloths with
snug fitting. It is greatly used in
swimming suits, t-shirts and universal
size caps in combination with cotton.
Plastics
There is a great variety of plastics
made from different chemicals.
Property and uses of each kind of
plastic depend upon the material being
used for its synthesis (polymerization)
 Types of
plastics

Thermosetting Thermoplastics
Thermosetting plastics

Thermosetting plastics are hard and rigid.

Example is Bakelite and melamine. Thermoset
can be moulded to set it in any shape but it
cannot be remoulded. It is dark in color, hard
and resistant to heat and electricity. It is being
widely used for the handle of kettles and pans.
Earlier black telephone sets, electric switches,
electric lamp holders, pins and plugs were made
from thermoset plastic. It is also being used as a
part of fibre glass sheet in the making of
helmets. Melamine is a kind of Thermoset
plastics used in good quality tableware.
Melamine is also used as a coating on uniforms
of firemen to make them fire resistant
Examples of therosetting plastics

Thermoset handles

A firemans uniform is coated with

thermoset plastic to made it fire resistant

Melamine wares

An electric pin (black)

Thermoplastics

Thermoplastics are soft and flexib;e

through they are not elastic like rubber
and steel springs. They melt on warming
and regain their shape on cooling.
Thermoplastics can be drawn into fine
fibers, moulded to any desired shape or
stretched or spread as sheets. Some of
the better known thermoplastics are
nylon (polyamide), polyesters,
polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC),
acrylic, polyurethane, polypropylene
(PP), poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene (PTEE)
Thermoplastics examples
Plastic table and chairs

Plastic food containers

Plastic toys

Plastic spoons and forks

Plastic cups

Plastic daily use items

Advantages of synthetic Fibres

 Strong and Durable

 Light weight
 Dyed in many colours
 Easy to wash and wear
 No requirement of ironing
 Cheap
 A substitute of natural fibre
Disdvantages of synthetic Fibres

 Doesn’t absorb sweat so sticks to the

body and makes the wearer
uncomfortable
 Melts before burning so sticks to the
body
 Accumulates charge on rubbing and
sticks to the body
 Non biodegradable