Editing Nylon (section)

=== DuPont and the invention of nylon ===
Researchers at [[DuPont]] began developing cellulose-based fibres, culminating in the synthetic fibre [[rayon]]. DuPont's experience with rayon was an important precursor to its development and marketing of nylon.<ref name="Ndiaye">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PHH3iE2LPCoC&pg=PA236|title=Nylon and bombs : DuPont and the march of modern America|last1=Ndiaye|first1=Pap A.|last2=Forster|first2=Elborg|date=2007|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=9780801884443|location=Baltimore|pages=182|access-date=19 June 2017}}</ref>{{rp|8,64,236}}

DuPont's invention of nylon spanned an eleven-year period, ranging from the initial research program in polymers in 1927 to its announcement in 1938, shortly before the opening of the [[1939 New York World's Fair]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Nylon: A DuPont Invention|last=DuPont|publisher=DuPont International, Public Affairs|year=1988|pages=2–3}}</ref> The project grew from a new organisational structure at DuPont, suggested by [[Charles Stine]] in 1927, in which the chemical department would be composed of several small research teams that would focus on "pioneering research" in chemistry and would "lead to practical applications".<ref name="Ndiaye" />{{rp|92}} Harvard instructor [[Wallace Hume Carothers]] was hired to direct the polymer research group. Initially he was allowed to focus on pure research, building on and testing the theories of German chemist [[Hermann Staudinger]].<ref name="Kativa"/> He was very successful, as research he undertook greatly improved the knowledge of polymers and contributed to the science.<ref name="Meikle">{{cite book|last1=Meikle|first1=Jeffrey L.|title=American plastic: A cultural history|date=1995|publisher=Rutgers University Press|location=New Brunswick, NJ|isbn=0813522358|edition=1. ppb. print|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_1ePU4GEGAC&pg=PA1927}}</ref>

Nylon was the first commercially successful synthetic [[thermoplastic]] polymer.<ref name="PlasticsCHF">{{cite web|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/science-of-plastics|title=Science of Plastics|website=[[Science History Institute]]|date=2016-07-18|access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref> DuPont began its research project in 1927.<ref name=":1" />
The first nylon, [[nylon 66]], was synthesised on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Hume Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the [[DuPont Experimental Station]].<ref name="ACS">{{cite web|last1=American Chemical Society National Historic Chemical Landmarks|title=Foundations of Polymer Science: Wallace Hume Carothers and the Development of Nylon|url=http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/carotherspolymers.html|website=ACS Chemistry for Life|access-date=27 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="Carothers">{{cite web|title=Wallace Hume Carothers|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/wallace-hume-carothers|website=[[Science History Institute]]|date=June 2016|access-date=20 March 2018}}</ref> In response to Carothers' work, [[Paul Schlack]] at [[IG Farben]] developed [[nylon 6|nylon&nbsp;6]], a different molecule based on [[caprolactam]], on January 29, 1938.<ref name="McIntyre">{{cite book|last1=McIntyre|first1=J. E.|title=Synthetic fibres: nylon, polyester, acrylic, polyolefin|date=2005|publisher=Woodhead|location=Cambridge |isbn=9780849325922|page=10|edition=1st|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zpMw7kB3EWQC&pg=PA10|access-date=5 July 2017}}</ref>{{rp|10}}<ref name="Travis">{{cite book|last1=Travis|first1=Anthony S.|title=Determinants in the evolution of the European chemical industry: 1900-1939: new technologies, political frameworks, markets and companies|date=1998|publisher=Kluwer Acad. Publ.|location=Dordrecht|isbn=9780792348900|page=115|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gvP7CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA115|access-date=5 July 2017}}</ref>

In the spring of 1930, Carothers and his team had already synthesised two new polymers. One was [[neoprene]], a synthetic rubber greatly used during World War II.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://chlorine.americanchemistry.com/Science-Center/Chlorine-Compound-of-the-Month-Library/Neoprene-The-First-Synthetic-Rubber/|title=Neoprene: The First Synthetic Rubber|website=chlorine.americanchemistry.com|access-date=2018-12-06|archive-date=2020-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926141526/https://chlorine.americanchemistry.com/Science-Center/Chlorine-Compound-of-the-Month-Library/Neoprene-The-First-Synthetic-Rubber/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The other was a white elastic but strong paste that would later become nylon. After these discoveries, Carothers' team was made to shift its research from a more pure research approach investigating general polymerisation to a more practically focused goal of finding "one chemical combination that would lend itself to industrial applications".<ref name="Ndiaye" />{{rp|94}}

It was not until the beginning of 1935 that a polymer called "polymer 6-6" was finally produced. Carothers' coworker, [[Washington University in St. Louis|Washington University]] alumnus [[Julian W. Hill]] had used a [[Drawing (manufacturing)#Plastic drawing|cold drawing]] method to produce a [[polyester]] in 1930.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/carotherspolymers.html|title=Wallace Carothers and the Development of Nylon - Landmark|website=American Chemical Society|language=en|access-date=2019-08-14}}</ref> This cold drawing method was later used by Carothers in 1935 to fully develop nylon.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/01/us/julian-w-hill-nylon-s-discoverer-dies-at-91.html|title=Julian W. Hill, Nylon's Discoverer, Dies at 91|last=Stout|first=David|date=1996-02-01|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-08-14|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The first example of nylon (nylon 6.6) was produced on February 28, 1935, at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station.<ref name=ACS/> It had all the desired properties of elasticity and strength. However, it also required a complex manufacturing process that would become the basis of industrial production in the future. DuPont obtained a patent for the polymer in September 1938,<ref name="US 2130523"/> and quickly achieved a monopoly of the fibre.<ref name="Meikle" /> Carothers died 16 months before the announcement of nylon, therefore he was never able to see his success.<ref name=":1" /> The name "Nylon" came from the a modification of ''norun'' (no run) into a unique name that could be used to market the product but was not trademarked.<ref name="Myers">{{Cite book|last=Myers|first=Richard L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0AnJU-hralEC|title=The 100 Most Important Chemical Compounds: A Reference Guide|date=2007|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-0-313-33758-1|language=en|pages=20–23|access-date=21 November 2015|archive-date=17 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617093705/https://books.google.com/books?id=0AnJU-hralEC|url-status=live}}</ref>

Nylon was first used commercially in a nylon-[[bristle]]d [[toothbrush]] in 1938,<ref name="AOGHS"/><ref name="Nicholson">{{cite magazine|last1=Nicholson|first1=Joseph L.|last2=Leighton|first2=George R.|title=Plastics Come of Age|url=https://archive.org/stream/harpersmagazine185junalde/harpersmagazine185junalde_djvu.txt|access-date=5 July 2017|magazine=Harper's Magazine|pages=300–307|date=August 1942}}</ref> followed more famously in women's [[stocking]]s or "nylons" which were shown at the 1939 New York World's Fair and first sold commercially in 1940,<ref name="Wolfe2008">{{cite journal|date=October 3, 2008 |title=Nylon: A Revolution in Textiles|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/nylon-a-revolution-in-textiles|journal=Distillations Magazine |publisher=Science History Institute |last1=Wolfe|first1=Audra J.|access-date=20 March 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180321130329/https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/nylon-a-revolution-in-textiles |archive-date= March 21, 2018  }}</ref> whereupon they became an instant commercial success with 64 million pairs sold during their first year on the market. During World War II, almost all nylon production was diverted to the military for use in [[parachutes]] and [[parachute cord]]. Wartime uses of nylon and other [[plastics]] greatly increased the market for the new materials.<ref name="Conflicts">{{cite web|title=The History and Future of Plastics|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/the-history-and-future-of-plastics|work=Conflicts in Chemistry: The Case of Plastics |publisher=Science History Institute |access-date=20 March 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320170600/https://www.sciencehistory.org/the-history-and-future-of-plastics |archive-date=20 March 2018 }}</ref>

The production of nylon required interdepartmental collaboration between three departments at DuPont: the Department of Chemical Research, the Ammonia Department, and the Department of Rayon.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Nylon and Bombs: DuPont and the March of Modern America |isbn=9781421403342 |date=2007 |url=https://dokumen.pub/nylon-and-bombs-dupont-and-the-march-of-modern-america-9781421403342-9780801884443.html |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Dokumen.PUB |language=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808110540/https://dokumen.pub/nylon-and-bombs-dupont-and-the-march-of-modern-america-9781421403342-9780801884443.html |archive-date=2022-08-08 |last1=Ndiaye |first1=Pap A. |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press+ORM }}</ref> Some of the key ingredients of nylon had to be produced using [[high pressure chemistry]], the main area of expertise of the Ammonia Department. Nylon was considered a "godsend to the Ammonia Department",<ref name="Ndiaye" /> which had been in financial difficulties. The reactants of nylon soon constituted half of the Ammonia Department's sales and helped them come out of the period of the [[Great Depression]] by creating jobs and revenue at DuPont.<ref name="Ndiaye" />

DuPont's nylon project demonstrated the importance of [[chemical engineering]] in industry, helped create jobs, and furthered the advancement of chemical engineering techniques. In fact, it developed a chemical plant that provided 1800 jobs and used the latest technologies of the time, which are still used as a model for chemical plants today.<ref name="Ndiaye" /> The ability to acquire a large number of chemists and engineers quickly was a huge contribution to the success of DuPont's nylon project.<ref name="Ndiaye" />{{rp|100–101}} The first nylon plant was located at Seaford, Delaware, beginning commercial production on December 15, 1939. On October 26, 1995, the Seaford plant was designated a [[National Historic Chemical Landmark]] by the [[American Chemical Society]].<ref name="Landmark">{{cite web|title=A National Historic Chemical Landmark: The First Nylon Plant|url=https://www.acs.org/content/dam/acsorg/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/carotherspolymers/first-nylon-plant-historical-resource.pdf |first1=John F. |last1=McAllister |date=Oct 26, 1995 |website=American Chemical Society|access-date=26 June 2017}}</ref>