1. How petroleum is converted into useful materials : carbocations and free radicals are the keys -- 2. Polyethylene, polypropylene and the principles of stereochemistry -- 3. The central role of electrophilic aromatic substitution -- 4. From nucleophilic chemistry to crosslinking, with a side trip to glycerol, in the synthesis of commercially important plastics -- 5. The nylon story -- 6. Competition for the best industrial synthesis of methyl methacrylate -- 7. Natural rubber and other elastomers -- 8. Ethylene and propylene : two very different kinds of chemistry -- 9. The demise of acetaldehyde : a story of how the chemical industry evolves -- 10. Doing well by doing good -- An epilogue : the future.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.