Basic history (when and why did we start use it)

The story peculiarly begins in two separate years—1838 and 1872—when

French physicist Henri Victor Regnault and German chemist Eugen
Baumann respectively discovered PVC for the first (and second) time.
Neither followed up on the breakthrough, but on both occasions the
polymer materialized as a “white solid” within flasks filled with vinyl
chloride gas.

Following these independent discoveries, no one actually mastered the use

of PVC in commercial applications until 1913, when a German inventor by
the name of Friedrich Heinrich August Klatte decided to take out the first
patent on the material.

https://www.piper-plastics.com/2017/03/27/a-brief-history-of-pvc/

Polyvinyl chloride or PVC was first created by the German chemist Eugen
Baumann in 1872. Eugen Baumann never applied for a patent.
Polyvinyl chloride or PVC was never patented until 1913 when German, Friedrich
Klatte invented a new method of the polymerization of vinyl chloride using
sunlight.
Friedrich Klatte became the first inventor to receive a patent for PVC. However,
no really useful purpose for PVC was found until Waldo Semon came along and
made PVC a better product. Semon had been quoted as saying, "People thought
of PVC as worthless back then [circa 1926]. They'd throw it in the trash."

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-vinyl-1992458

Around the early 20th century, B.F. Goodrich hired industrial scientist Waldo
Semon to develop a novel, synthetic alternative for the increasingly
expensive natural rubber. Polyvinyl chloride experiments were started, but
the project was soon threatened by the recession of 1920. That’s when
Semon had an incredible idea: using PVC as a water-resistant coating for
fabrics. Soon enough, sales of the material rapidly took off, with demand
peaking at the start of World War II, when PVC was adopted as an insulator
for wiring on military ships.

PVC is one of the oldest synthetic materials with the longest history in
industrial production. Its early history is of multiple and accidental
discovery in different places at different times as well as unsuccessful
quests for commercial application.

The most significant breakthrough occurred in the United States when the company
BFGoodrich hired the industrial scientist Waldo Semon to develop a synthetic replacement
for the increasingly costly natural rubber. His experiments again produced polyvinyl chloride.
However, the material was threatened by the recession in the 1920s and it was under threat of
abandonment that Semon conceived the idea of PVC as a water resistant coating for fabrics.
Sales took off quickly with a rapidly expanding product range. Demand accelerated again
during the Second World War, when PVC quickly replaced traditional material to insulate
wiring on military ships.

http://www.pmtechnic.com/en/news/history-of-pvc

-List of plastic properties (type of plastics, melting point, strength,

etc)

https://www.creativemechanisms.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-pvc-plastic

https://www.bpf.co.uk/plastipedia/polymers/pvc.aspx

-Identify the functional groups in your plastic or medication

Chemical reactions involved in creating the compound from the simplest chemical

The essential raw materials for PVC are derived from salt and oil. The electrolysis of salt
water produces chlorine, which is combined with ethylene (obtained from oil) to form vinyl
chloride monomer (VCM). Molecules of VCM are polymerised to form PVC resin, to which
appropriate additives are incorporated to make a customised PVC compound .

● The extraction of salt and hydrocarbon resources

● The production of ethylene and chlorine from these resources
● The combination of chlorine and ethylene to make the vinyl chloride monomer
(VCM)
● The polymerisation of VCM to make poly-vinyl-chloride (PVC)
● The blending of PVC polymer with other materials to produce different formulations
providing a wide range of physical properties.

https://www.bpf.co.uk/plastipedia/polymers/pvc.aspx
Making the connections between the structure and their properties I

.. As far as its electrical properties, PVC has good insulation, but, because it has
polar elements to its composition, it has worse insulation than other plastics,
such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

Additionally, its high chlorine content makes the material fire-resistant, another
reason why it has gained such popularity across various industries.
the only exception among the general-purpose plastics, since it contains more
than 50% of chlorine.

PVC consists of polar molecules which are attracted to each other by

dipole-dipole interactions due to electrostatic attractions of a chlorine atom in
one molecule to a hydrogen atom in another atom: These considerable
intermolecular attractions between polymer chains make PVC a fairly strong
material.

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2001/esser/introduction.html#:~:text=PVC
%20consists%20of%20polar%20molecules,PVC%20a%20fairly%20strong%20mat
erial.

https://www.lenntech.com/polyvinyl-chloride-pvc.htm

http://www.seepvcforum.com/en/content/29-fire-retarding-properties

https://www.lincoln-plastics.com/what-thermoplastic-pvc

● PVC consists of polar molecules which are attracted to each other by dipole-dipole interactions

For plastic only - The manufacturing processes involved in making

the compound and how it is used in at least one example you gave
(i.e. how a plastic cup is made)

PVC pipes are created by starting with a molten mixture of the material and
shaping them around a cast. The casts are made to be the exact width of the
pipe. The mixture is poured into a cast and surrounded by an outer shell. The
complete set is then placed into an oven to be cooked. Once the pipe has
solidified, it is cooled and moved into finishing. Sections of the pipe are then cut
based on common sizes and needs. The sections are then coated in a chlorine
solution to prevent harmful bacteria from growing during shipping and use. Once
the coating is dried, the ends of each section are finished. If the pipe is a smooth
connection, the top of the pipe is sanded down to ensure a perfectly flat surface.
For fitted pipes, a machine engraves a series of grooves into the pipe. As the
grooves are cut, high-pressured water is sprayed on the pipe to remove excess
PVC fragments. After the grooves are added, the ends are smooth and the
sections are sent into testing.

https://en.lesso.com/blogs/how-are-plastic-pipes-manufactured/

IMpact of healt
https://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/pvc-and-the-environment.html

https://pvc.org/sustainability/pvc-recycling-in-europe/pvc-incineration-and-dioxins/
#:~:text=Through%20complete%20combustion%2C%20PVC%20can,products%
20according%20to%20incineration%20conditions.

https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances/vinyl-chl
oride

https://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0317/p13s02-sten.html

Books

https://publications.iarc.fr/123

451-467

https://healthybuilding.net/uploads/files/environmental-impacts-of-polyvinyl-chlori
de-building-materials.pdf

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