ABSTRACT
Although Leo Baekeland produced the first true synthetic plastic in 1907, the scientific community as a whole did not accept macromolecular theory until the late 1920s. Staudinger [1-4] first proposed the theory of large molecular weight compounds in 1920. He synthesized many macromolecules and then tested viscosity, melting points, and solubility. A debate raged between Staudinger and other proponents of macromolecular theory vs. proponents of the association theory. The association theorists rejected the possibility of high molecular weight compounds and did not believe that these atoms were linked by covalent bonds.
