synthetic Resin

Resin, synthetic, industrial chemical compound made up of many simple molecules linked together to form large, complex molecules. Most plastics and polymers are a form of synthetic resin. Complicated chemical processes are used to convert petroleum, coal, water, air, and wood into more complex chemicals, such as alcohol, phenol, ammonia, and formaldehyde; these, in turn, are combined to form synthetic resins. The first totally synthetic resin was Bakelite, which was produced by L.H. Baekeland in 1910 from phenol and formaldehyde. The work in the 1920s of H. Staudinger on the polymeric nature of natural rubber and styrene resin, which laid the theoretical basis for polymer science, was a major factor in stimulating the extremely rapid development of a wide range of synthetic plastics and resins. Resins have a wide variety of uses in manufactured goods for which durability and flexibility are required, and are also used in paints, adhesives and coatings for cloth, metal, and paper.

See also: Plastic.