History
The first useful addition polymer was made by accident in 1933 by ICI chemists Reginald Gibson and Eric Fawcett. They were carrying out a series of experiments which involved reacting organic compounds under high temperatures and high pressures. They set up an experiment to react ethene with benzaldehyde in the hope of producing a ketone. They left the reaction vessel overnight, and the next morning they found a small amount of a white waxy solid. It was shown later that this solid was polyethene.
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