Polyformaldehyde
The Russian
chemist, Butlerov discovered a white brittle
material derived from formaldehyde in 1859.
Staudinger investigated formaldehyde polymers in
the 1920s and their study did much to enhance
understanding of polymers in general. He also
found that the thermal stability of
polyformaldehyde could be improved by chemical
modification of the ends of the polymer chains,
and this was crucial to the later development of
this polymer.
In 1947, DuPont initiated a
research program under Robert McDonald to study
formaldehyde and its polymers. This culminated in
the commercial production of polyformaldehyde
under their tradename of Delrin in 1959.
It is a tough,translucent,
white material which resembles nylon and
polypropylene but is somewhat harder. Its solvent
resistant properties coupled with a good
dimensional stability enabled it to find use as
gear wheels and dry-run bearings, and in other
light engineering applications as a replacement
for die-cast metals.
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