Koopmans R J
Dow Benelux BV, Core R&D, P.O. Box 48, 4530AA Terneuzen, The Netherlands.
Soft Matter. 2006 Jun 20;2(7):537-543. doi: 10.1039/b602948e.
21st century industrial activities are faced with the challenge of sustainable development. The current state of affairs of the chemical industry as seen in its historical context offers a perspective for the future. The chemical industry developed in the 19th century from efforts to replace naturally occurring materials rubber and ivory. Revisiting nature for inspiration with today's far more advanced chemistry knowledge offers an abundance of opportunities for fundamental research as well as applied technology development with commercial perspectives. Beyond the covalent bond as practiced by synthetic petrochemistry for making a wealth of small-, oligo-, and macro-molecules there exists a vast area, barely explored, of bio-materials with seemingly endless structure-forming capability and functionality. These non-covalent, intermolecular forces working at several length and time scales define functional materials that may offer opportunities to tackle the challenges of sustainability. Such coming from a combination of synthetic polymer chemistry and chemistry inspired by nature form a future path to innovation and sustainable growth. They bring a basis for materials differentiation and renewed competitiveness in the chemical industry.
21世纪的工业活动面临着可持续发展的挑战。从历史背景来看，化学工业的现状为未来提供了一个视角。化学工业在19世纪从试图替代天然材料橡胶和象牙的努力中发展而来。利用当今更为先进的化学知识，从大自然中获取灵感，为基础研究以及具有商业前景的应用技术开发提供了大量机会。除了合成石油化学所采用的共价键来制造大量的小分子、寡聚物和大分子之外，还存在一个几乎未被探索的广阔领域，即具有看似无穷无尽的结构形成能力和功能的生物材料。这些在多个长度和时间尺度上起作用的非共价分子间作用力定义了功能材料，这些功能材料可能为应对可持续发展挑战提供机会。这种源于合成聚合物化学和受自然启发的化学的结合，构成了未来创新和可持续增长的道路。它们为化学工业中的材料差异化和重新获得竞争力奠定了基础。
