chemistry

Synthetic resin

Synthetic resin is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Synthetic resin rather than just read about it. In short: Synthetic resin is an industrially produced, typically viscous substance that converts into rigid polymers by the process of curing. They are formed by the reaction of dibasic organic acids and polyhydric alcohols.

Key takeaways

Synthetic resin belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Synthetic resin to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Synthetic resin from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Synthetic resin is an industrially produced, typically viscous substance that converts into rigid polymers by the process of curing. They are formed by the reaction of dibasic organic acids and polyhydric alcohols. In order to undergo curing, resins typically contain reactive groups, such as acrylates or epoxides. Some synthetic resins have properties similar to natural plant resins, but many do not. Synthetic resins are of several classes. Some are manufactured by esterification of organic compounds. Some are thermosetting plastics in which the term "resin" is loosely applied to the reactant(s), the product, or both. "Resin" may be applied to one or more monomers in a copolymer, the other being called a "hardener", as in epoxy resins. For thermosetting plastics that require only one monomer, the monomer compound is the "resin". For example, liquid methyl methacrylate is often called the "resin" or "casting resin" while in the liquid state, before it polymerizes and "sets". After setting, the resulting poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is often renamed "acrylic glass" or "acrylic" (trade names include Plexiglas and Lucite).

Uses Synthetic resins are also used extensively in cured-in-place pipe applications. Departments of transportation in the United States also specify them for use as overlays on roads and bridges. In this application, they are known as polyester concrete overlays (PCO). These are usually based on isophthalic acid and cut with styrene at high levels—usually up to 50%. Synthetic resins are also used in anchor bolt adhesives, though epoxy based materials are also used. Many companies have and continue to introduce styrene-free systems mainly due to odor issues, but also over concerns that styrene is a potential carcinogen. Drinking water applications also prefer styrene-free resins. Dental restorative materials based on bis-GMA-containing resins can break down into or be contaminated with the related compound bisphenol A, a potential endocrine disruptor. However, no negative health effects of bis-GMA use in dental resins have been found.

Types

There are a number of materials which may be described as "synthetic resin". One variety is epoxy resin, manufactured through polymerization-polyaddition or polycondensation reactions and used as a thermoset polymer for adhesives and composites. Accordingly, it has mainly seen use in industrial flooring purposes since the 1960s. Since 2000, however, epoxy and polyurethane resins are used in interiors as well, mainly in Western Europe. Synthetic "casting resin" for embedding display objects in Plexiglas/Lucite (PMMA) is simply methyl methacrylate liquid, into which a polymerization catalyst is added and mixed, causing it to "set" (polymerize). The polymerization creates a block of PMMA plastic ("acrylic glass") which holds the display object inside a transparent block. Another synthetic polymer sometimes called by the same general name is acetal resin. By contrast with the other synthetics, however, it has a simple chain structure with the repeat unit of form −[CH2O]−. Ion-exchange resins are used in water purification and catalysis of organic reactions. (See also AT-10 resin, melamine resin.) Certain ion-exchange resins are also used pharmaceutically as bile acid sequestrants, mainly as hypolipidemic agents, although they may be used for purposes other than lowering cholesterol. Solvent impregnated resins (SIRs) are porous resin particles which contain an additional liquid extractant inside the porous matrix. The contained extractant is supposed to enhance the capacity of the resin particles. The production of PVC entails the production of "vinyl chloride resins", which differ in the degree of polymerization. Silicone resins are silicone-based polymers that exhibit various useful properties like weatherability (durability), dielectricity, water repellency, thermal stability, and chemical inertness.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Synthetic resin

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Synthetic resin claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Synthetic resin before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Synthetic resin ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Synthetic resin

In research: Synthetic resin appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Synthetic resin in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Synthetic resin is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Plastics, Polymers, Synthetic resins, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Synthetic resin outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Synthetic resin in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Synthetic resin means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Synthetic resin out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Synthetic resin in simple terms?

Why does Synthetic resin matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Synthetic resin?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Synthetic resin.