Neoprene

Abstract

Neoprene is a truly synthetic rubber with a very wide range of uses, in some of which it is superior to natural rubber. Julius A. Nieuwland was responsible for starting the chain that led to its discovery. A native of Hansboeke, Belgium, he graduated from the American University of Notre Dame in 1899 and he decided to devote himself to a theoretical study of acetylene. In 1903 he was ordained, a year later he received his doctorate and returned to Notre Dame to resume his experimental work. In 1906 he noticed that a reaction occurred when acetylene was passed into a solution of copper and alkali metal chlorides; although no violent reaction took place, a strange odour indicated the presence of a new product.