The nine year career of Wallace H. Carothers at DuPont was incredibly productive for both DuPont and for polymer chemistry. The Carothers group produced two landmark products, Nylon and Neoprene rubber, while polymer chemistry became credible within the chemical discipline and was put on a firm basis. As an example of Carothers' impact on the science, the beginning polymer student now learns the Carothers equation as a way of calculating the degree of polymerization in condensation polymerization and the Carothers gelation equation as a way of determining the gel point of a polymerization. Carothers would be a "slam dunk" as a recipient of a posthumous Nobel Prize, but the presenter will make the case that Carothers would have been a viable candidate for the Nobel Prize in 1936, provided a suitable, prestigious nominator could have been found.

Wallace Carothers and polymer chemistry: A partnership ended far too soon

251st National Meeting (2016)

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