Polymers for a clear, transparent view
PLEXIGLAS®
In 1933, the chemist, Dr. Otto Röhm, succeeded in developing a method for polymerizing methyl-methacrylate. This breakthrough resulted in a product that has become an essential part of our everyday lives and whose brand name, PLEXIGLAS®, is today known the world over. For the first time, Röhm had produced a transparent, hard and shatter-proof polymer that was later to give new momentum to many sectors of industry. As early as 1901, the young Röhm had written a dissertation entitled “Polymerization Products of Acrylic Acids,” which established the basis for his later research that was to give rise to the product PLEXIGLAS®.
After 1933, the new material quickly enjoyed widespread use. This was partly because PLEXIGLAS® was used, for example, for the windows of aircraft cockpits. At the same time, it was not long before PLEXIGLAS® was being used in civilian applications, for example, for instrument covers, watch glasses and cutlery.
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Today, an extensive portfolio is available to industry, which is divided into two large product ranges: PLEXIGLAS® sheets, rods and tubes, and PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds. Owing to its excellent weathering resistance, long service life, high breaking strength, superior light transmission properties of 92 percent, simple processing and low weight, PLEXIGLAS® products can be used in a wide range of applications.
They can also be employed in private and industrial construction, in aircraft and greenhouse windows, as well as in neon advertising signs, furniture and other applications. PLEXIGLAS® is also used for baths and shower trays, large windows in seawater aquariums and in high-quality functional models.
PLEXIGLAS® molding compounds present endless possibilities for all injection-molding and extrusion applications. |
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| Worldfamous architecture with PLEXIGLAS®: the Olympic stadium in Munich, Germany. | |
The most important markets for this product group are the transport sector (for the rear lights and indicator lights of vehicles), the construction and lighting industry, household goods (for kitchen utensils and containers), office technology, optics, medical technology, electronics and the communication and entertainment industry, for which CD and DVD blanks are produced, for example.
The development, production and marketing of PLEXIGLAS® are now part of the Specialty Polymers Division at Degussa. PLEXIGLAS® is manufactured in Worms, Weiterstadt and Wörth.
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