Bakelite Museum
United Kingdom · Europe
About
Bakelite ( BAY-kə-lyte) was the first plastic made from synthetic components. It was developed by chemist Leo Baekeland in Yonkers, New York, in 1907, and patented on December 7, 1909.
Bakelite was a commercial success because it could be molded into any shape. It was used for such diverse products as kitchenware, jewelry, pipe stems, children's toys, and firearms. Because Bakelite is heat-resistant and electrically nonconductive, it was also used to make products such as electrical insulators and casings for radios and telephones.
The creation of a synthetic plastic was revolutionary for the chemical industry, which at the time was mostly focused on cloth dyes and explosives. Bakelite's commercial success led to other synthetic plastics. As the world's first commercial synthetic plastic, Bakelite was named a National Historic Chemical Landmark by the American Chemical Society.
Formally, Bakelite is polyoxybenzylmethyleneglycolanhydride, a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde.
The retro appeal of old Bakelite products has made them collectible.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.