Nylon is a
generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers, more specifically
aliphatic or semi-aromatic polyamides. They can be melt processed into fibres,
films or shapes. The first example of nylon (nylon 66) was produced on February
28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont
Experimental Station. Nylon polymers have found significant commercial
applications in fibres (apparel, flooring and rubber reinforcement), in shapes
(moulded parts for cars, electrical equipment, etc.), and in films (mostly for
food packaging)
Nylon is a thermoplastic, silky material, first used
commercially in a nylon-bristled toothbrush (1938), followed more famously by
women's stockings ("nylons"; 1940) after being introduced as a fabric
at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Nylon is made of repeating units linked by
amide bonds and is a type of polyamide and is frequently referred to as such
Nylon was the first commercially successful synthetic thermoplastic polymer.
Commercially, nylon polymer is made by reacting monomers which are either
lactams, acid/amines or stoichiometric mixtures of diamines (-NH2) and diacids
(-COOH). Mixtures of these can be polymerized together to make copolymers.
Nylon polymers can be mixed with a wide variety of additives to achieve many
different property variations.
Nylon was intended to be a synthetic replacement for silk
and substituted for it in many different products after silk became scarce
during World War II. It replaced silk in military applications such as
parachutes and flak vests, and was used in many types of vehicle tires.
After initial commercialization of nylon as a fiber,
applications in the form of shapes and films were also developed. The main
market for nylon shapes now is in auto components, but there are many others.
Nylon
Characteristics
- Exceptionally strong
- Elastic
- Abrasion resistant
- Lustrous
- Easy to wash
- Resistant to damage from oil and many chemicals
- Can be precolored or dyed in wide range of colors
- Resilient
- Low in moisture absorbency
- Filament yarns provide smooth, soft, long-lasting fabrics
- Spun yarns lend fabrics light weight and warmth
Some Major
Nylon Fiber Uses
- Apparel: Blouses, dresses, foundation garments, hosiery, lingerie, underwear, raincoats, ski apparel, windbreakers, swimwear, and cycle wear
- Home Furnishings: Bedspreads, carpets, curtains, upholstery
- Industrial and Other Uses: Tire cord, hoses, conveyer and seat belts, parachutes, racket strings, ropes and nets, sleeping bags, tarpaulins, tents, thread, monofilament fishing line, dental floss
Bill Pittendreigh, DuPont, and other individuals and
corporations worked diligently during the first few months of World War II to
find a way to replace Asian silk and hemp with nylon in parachutes. It was also
used to make tires, tents, ropes, ponchos, and other military supplies. It was
even used in the production of a high-grade paper for U.S. currency. At the
outset of the war, cotton accounted for more than 80% of all fibers used and
manufactured, and wool fibers accounted for nearly all of the rest. By August
1945, manufactured fibers had taken a market share of 25%, at the expense of
cotton. After the war, because of shortages of both silk and nylon, nylon
parachute material was sometimes repurposed to make dresses.
Etymology
In 1940, John W. Eckelberry of DuPont stated that the
letters "nyl" were arbitrary and the "on" was copied from
the suffixes of other fibers such as cotton and rayon. A later publication by
DuPont (Context, vol. 7, no. 2, 1978) explained that the name was originally
intended to be "No-Run" ("run" meaning
"unravel"), but was modified to avoid making such an unjustified
claim. Since the products were not really run-proof, the vowels were swapped to
produce "nuron", which was changed to "nilon" "to make
it sound less like a nerve tonic". For clarity in pronunciation, the
"i" was changed to "y".
An alternative but apocryphal explanation for the name is
that it is a combination of New York and London: NY-Lon.
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