Natural polymers began to be chemically modified during the 1800s to produce many materials. The most famous of these were vulcanized rubber, gun cotton and celluloid. The first truly synthetic polymer produced was Bakelite in 1909 and was soon followed by the first synthetic fiber, rayon, which was developed in 1911. The Structure of Polymers Many common classes of polymers are composed of hydrocarbons. These polymers are specifically made of small units bonded into long chains.
Carbon makes up the backbone of the molecule and hydrogen atoms are bonded along the backbone.
Below is a diagram of polyethylene, the simplest polymer structure. There are polymers that contain only carbon and hydrogen. Polypropylene, polybutylene, polystyrene, and polymethylpentene are examples of these. Even though the basic makeup of many polymers is carbon and hydrogen, other elements can also be involved. Oxygen, chorine, fluorine, nitrogen, silicon, phosphorous, and sulfur are other elements that are found in the molecular makeup of polymers.