Why Was the Macromolecular Hypothesis Such a Big Deal?

Abstract

Natural macromolecular materials have been in use since before Homo sapiens evolved. Macromolecular manmade materials, products of ancient chemical technology, have a shorter history, but still date back to before the advent of man. We trace these materials from their earliest form through antiquity and the industrial revolution to today’s complex “plastics.” We then consider the evolution of chemistry and the molecular concept and explore the confusion in the nineteenth century concerning the possible existence of large molecules. Despite experimental results, beginning in 1825, that pointed to molecular weights in the tens of thousands, the predominant scientific view was that no such molecules could exist. This stubbornly upheld position was overturned by the efforts of an initially small number of scientists, led by Herrmann Staudinger, who changed the understanding of the nature of macromolecules within roughly a decade, from about 1920 on.