Adv Polym Sci (2013) 261: 61–80
DOI: 10.1007/12_2013_251
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Published online: 29 October 2013
Why Was the Macromolecular Hypothesis
Such a Big Deal?
Ulrich W. Suter
Abstract Natural macromolecular materials have been in use since before Homo
sapiens evolved. Macromolecular manmade materials, products of ancient chemical
technology, have a shorter history, but still date back to before the advent of man. We
trace these materials from their earliest form through antiquity and the industrial
revolution to today’s complex “plastics.” We then consider the evolution of chemistry
and the molecular concept and explore the confusion in the nineteenth century
concerning the possible existence of large molecules. Despite experimental results,
beginning in 1825, that pointed to molecular weights in the tens of thousands, the
predominant scientific view was that no such molecules could exist. This stubbornly
upheld position was overturned by the efforts of an initially small number of scientists,
led by Herrmann Staudinger, who changed the understanding of the nature of
macromolecules within roughly a decade, from about 1920 on.
Keywords History of chemistry Á History of materials Á Macromolecules Á Plastics Á
Polymers
Contents
1 How Macromolecular Substances Came Into Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
2 Chemistry and the Molecular Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3 The Big Deal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
U.W. Suter (*)
Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
e-mail: uwsuter@ethz.ch
DOI: 10.1007/12_2013_251
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
Published online: 29 October 2013
Why Was the Macromolecular Hypothesis
Such a Big Deal?
Ulrich W. Suter
Abstract Natural macromolecular materials have been in use since before Homo
sapiens evolved. Macromolecular manmade materials, products of ancient chemical
technology, have a shorter history, but still date back to before the advent of man. We
trace these materials from their earliest form through antiquity and the industrial
revolution to today’s complex “plastics.” We then consider the evolution of chemistry
and the molecular concept and explore the confusion in the nineteenth century
concerning the possible existence of large molecules. Despite experimental results,
beginning in 1825, that pointed to molecular weights in the tens of thousands, the
predominant scientific view was that no such molecules could exist. This stubbornly
upheld position was overturned by the efforts of an initially small number of scientists,
led by Herrmann Staudinger, who changed the understanding of the nature of
macromolecules within roughly a decade, from about 1920 on.
Keywords History of chemistry Á History of materials Á Macromolecules Á Plastics Á
Polymers
Contents
1 How Macromolecular Substances Came Into Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
2 Chemistry and the Molecular Concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3 The Big Deal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
U.W. Suter (*)
Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
e-mail: uwsuter@ethz.ch