Leo Baekeland The Invention Of Bakelite Later Life

Born in Ghent, Belgium, Baekeland was the son of a cobbler and a maid. He emigrated to America in his twenties, inspired by the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

Baekeland sold his patent for Velox photographic paper to the president of Kodak, George Eastman, for $750,000.

The invention of Bakelite is considered the beginning of the Age of Plastics . Bakelite was made from phenolPhenol or carbolic acid is a white crystalline solid, with a chemical formula of , a melting point of 43°C, and a boiling point of 182°C at the pressure of 1 atmosphere (or 101080 Pa). It is not a real alcohol, because the hydroxyl group is fixed on a uns (then known as carbolic acid) and formaldehydeProperties General Name Formaldehyde The center of this image represents a carbon atom. Chemical formula H C O Formula weight 30. 03 amu Synonyms methanal methyl aldehyde, methylene oxide CAS number 50-00-0 Phase behavior Melting point 156. 9 °C) Boiling. These can be mixed, heated, and then either molded or extruded. The Nobel Prize in ChemistryList of Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry from 1901 to the present day. 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s External link http://www. se/chemistry/laureates/i winning GermanThe Federal Republic of Germany ( German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland is one of the world's leading industrialized countries, located in the middle of the European Union. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark and the Baltic Sea, to the east Adolf von BaeyerJohann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer ( October 31, 1835 August 20, 1917) was a German chemist who synthesized indigo, and was the 1905 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Born in Berlin, he initially studied mathematics and physics at Berlin U had experimented with this material in 1872Events January 2 Brigham Young, is arrested for bigamy (25 wives). February 20 In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens. March 1 Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park March 5 George Westinghouse patents t, but did not complete its development. Bakelite took the industry by storm after 1907.

Bakelite was the first plastic invented that held its shape after being heated. RadioFor other uses see: radio (disambiguation Radio is a technology that allows the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of light. Radio waves Radio waves are a form of electromagnetic radiation, and ares, telephoneThe telephone or phone is a telecommunications device that transmits speech by means of electric signals. Generally attributed to the inventor Alexander Graham Bell, the first was built in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1876. However, an Italian inventor Antons and electrical insulator s were made of Bakelite due to its insulating and heat-resistant properties. Soon it penetrated nearly all branches on industry.

1 The invention of Bakelite

When asked why he entered the field of synthetic resins, Baekeland answered "to make money". His first objective was to find a replacement for shellac (at that time made from the shells of lac beetles). Chemists had begun to recognize that many of the natural resins and fibers were polymers. Baekeland began to investigate the reactions of phenol and formaldehyde. He first produced a soluble phenol-formaldehyde shellac (called "Novolak" that never became a market success). Then he turned to developing a binder for asbestos, which at that time was molded with rubber. By controlling the pressure and temperature applied to phenol and formaldehyde, he could produce his dreamed hard moldable plastic: bakelite. The official name of Bakelite was polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride.

2 Later life

Baekeland became a multimillionaire as a result of the explosion in the manufacture and use of Bakelite. Baekeland visited England in 1916 and met James Swinburne, who almost ten years earlier had coincidentally experimented with and created a material identical to Bakelite only to find that Baekeland had been awarded the patent the day before. Baekeland made Swinburne the chairman of the new Bakelite Limited, his British subsidiary. Baekeland appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine on September 22, 1924.

As Baekeland got older, he became more eccentric, getting into fierce battles with his son (and presumptive heir) over salary and other issues. He sold the General Bakelite Company to Union Carbide in 1939, at his son's prompting, retired, and eventually became a recluse, eating all of his meals from cans and becoming obsessed with developing an immense tropical garden on his Florida estate. He died of a cerebral hemorrhage in a sanatorium in Beacon, New York.

Baekeland's great-grandson, Anthony Baekeland spent several years in a psychiatric hospital after murdering his mother, Barbara Daly Baekeland; ironically, he suffocated himself with a plastic bag in 1981.

3 External link

Bakelite Museum Bakelite: The Material of a Thousend Uses (including a short biography of Baekeland)

Baekeland, Leo Baekeland, Leo Baekeland, Leo

<Hide>

Home > Leo Baekeland

1 The invention of Bakelite

2 Later life

3 External link

Topics: Leo Baekeland, The Invention Of Bakelite, Later Life...