| JT Dickson and Rex Whinfield
investigated thermoplastic polyesters in the
laboratories of the Calico Printers' Association
Ltd. during the period 1939 to 1941. Although
the aliphatic polyesters prepared by Carothers
had proved unrewarding, The aromatic polyesters
had remained largely unexplored. By 1939,
sufficient evidence had been accumulated
favouring the theory that microcrystallinity was
essential for the formation of strong synthetic
fibres. The need for molecular symmetry in
forming microcrystalline polymers was the basis
for Whinfield and Dickson's theoretical approach
to the problem, and use of an aromatic based
polymer should give a polymer with a sufficiently
high melting temperature for synthetic fibre
manufacture.
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