Editing Polystyrene (section)

==History==
Polystyrene was discovered in 1839 by [[Eduard Simon]], an [[apothecary]] from Berlin.<ref>Simon, E. (1839) [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x002457910;view=1up;seq=277 "Ueber den flüssigen Storax (''Styrax liquidus'')"] [On liquid storax (''Styrax liquidus'')], ''Annalen der Chemie'', '''31''' :  265–277.</ref> From [[storax]], the resin of the Oriental sweetgum tree ''[[Liquidambar orientalis]]'', he distilled an oily substance, that he named styrol, now called [[styrene]]. Several days later, Simon found that it had thickened into a jelly, now known to have been a [[polymer]], that he dubbed styrol oxide ("Styroloxyd") because he presumed that it had resulted from oxidation ([[styrene oxide]] is a distinct compound). By 1845 Jamaican-born chemist [[John Buddle Blyth]] and German chemist [[August Wilhelm von Hofmann]] showed that the same transformation of styrol took place in the absence of oxygen.<ref>Blyth, John, and Hofmann, Aug. Wilh. (1845). [https://books.google.com/books?id=A8MwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA289 "Ueber das Stryol und einige seiner Zersetzungsproducte"] ("On styrol and some of its decomposition products"), ''Annalen der Chemie und Pharmacie'', '''53'''(3): 289–329.</ref> They called the product "meta styrol"; analysis showed that it was chemically identical to Simon's Styroloxyd.<ref>Blyth and Hofmann, 1845, p. 312.  From p. 312: "Analysis, as well as synthesis, have equally demonstrated, that styrol and the solid, glassy material, for which we suggest the name 'meta styrol', possess the same percentage composition."</ref> In 1866 [[Marcellin Berthelot]] correctly identified the formation of meta styrol/Styroloxyd from styrol as a [[polymerisation]] process.<ref>Berthelot, M. (1866) [https://archive.org/stream/bulletin27frangoog#page/n295/mode/2up "Sur Les caractères de la benzine et du styrolène, comparés avec ceux des Autres carburetors d'hydrogène"] ("On the characters of benzene and styrene, compared with those of other hydrocarbons"), ''Bulletin de la Société Chimique de Paris'', 2nd series, '''6''':  289–298. From p. 294:  "On sait que le stryolène chauffé en vase scellé à 200°, pendant Quelques heures, se change en un polymère résineux (métastyrol), et que ce polymère, distillé brusquement, reproduit le styrolène." ("One knows that styrene [when] heated in a sealed vessel at 200&nbsp;°C, for several hours, is changed into a resinous polymer (polystyrene), and that this polymer, [when] distilled abruptly, reproduces styrene.")</ref> About 80 years later it was realized that heating of styrol starts a chain reaction that produces [[macromolecule]]s, following the thesis of German organic chemist [[Hermann Staudinger]] (1881–1965). This eventually led to the substance receiving its present name, polystyrene.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

The company [[IG Farben|I. G. Farben]] began manufacturing polystyrene in [[Ludwigshafen]], about 1931, hoping it would be a suitable replacement for die-cast [[zinc]] in many applications. Success was achieved when they developed a reactor vessel that extruded polystyrene through a heated tube and cutter, producing polystyrene in pellet form.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2007-09-21 |title=Business Gives Styrofoam a Rare Redemption |url=http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070921/A_NEWS/709210329 |access-date=2022-06-18}}</ref>

[[Ray McIntire]] (1918–1996), a chemical engineer of Dow Chemical, rediscovered a process first patented in early 1930s by Swedish inventor [[Carl Munters]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.invent.org/inductees/otis-ray-mcintire | title = Otis Ray McIntire | date = 16 August 2023 | publisher = National Inventor's Hall of Fame }}</ref> According to the Science History Institute, "Dow bought the rights to Munters's method and began producing a lightweight, water-resistant, and buoyant material that seemed perfectly suited for building docks and watercraft and for insulating homes, offices, and chicken sheds."<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/styrofoam-a-practical-and-problematic-creation | title = Styrofoam, a Practical and Problematic Creation | publisher = Science History Institute | date = 31 July 2018}}</ref> In 1944, [[Styrofoam]] was patented.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NIHF Inductee Otis Ray McIntire Invented STYROFOAM Brand Foam |url=https://www.invent.org/inductees/otis-ray-mcintire |access-date=2022-06-18 |publisher=www.invent.org |language=en}}</ref>

Before 1949, chemical engineer Fritz Stastny (1908–1985) developed pre-expanded PS beads by incorporating aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as pentane. These beads are the raw material for molding parts or extruding sheets. [[BASF]] and Stastny applied for a patent that was issued in 1949. The molding process was demonstrated at the Kunststoff Messe 1952 in Düsseldorf. Products were named Styropor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vidco |title=PAGEV |url=https://pagev.org/polystyrene |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=PAGEV |language=en}}</ref>

The crystal structure of isotactic polystyrene was reported by [[Giulio Natta]].<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1007/BF02731861| title = Crystal structure of isotactic polystyrene| journal = Il Nuovo Cimento| volume = 15| pages = 68–82| year = 1960| last1 = Natta | first1 = G.| last2 = Corradini | first2 = P.| last3 = Bassi | first3 = I. W.| issue = S1| bibcode = 1960NCim...15S..68N| s2cid = 119808547}}</ref>

In 1954, the [[Koppers|Koppers Company]] in [[Pittsburgh]], Pennsylvania, developed [[expanded polystyrene]] (EPS) foam under the trade name Dylite.<ref>Ferrigno, T.H. (1967). ''Rigid Plastics Foams'', 2nd edition. p. 207.</ref> In 1960, [[Dart Container]], the largest manufacturer of foam cups, shipped their first order.<ref>{{cite web|title=Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence in People and Products|url=http://www.dartcontainer.com/web/products.nsf/pages/celebrating50timeline.html|publisher=Dart Container Corporation|access-date=23 December 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20100604022321/http://www.dartcontainer.com/web/products.nsf/pages/celebrating50timeline.html|archive-date=4 June 2010}}</ref>