Chemical Formula of Kevlar

The monomers used to form Kevlar are 1,4-

phenylene-diamine and terephthaloyl chloride.
Kevlar is actually a trade name for the polymer;
its chemical name is polyparaphenylene
terephthalamide.
 Properties and uses of Kevlar

Kevlar has unique properties, such as high tensile

strength, high toughness, and chemical stability at high
temperatures in aromatic polyamides. Kevlar is widely-
used as a friction material in the automotive industry
and a combustion protection material in the aerospace
industry.
 How Kevlar is Manufactured

Kevlar is synthesized in solution from the monomers

1,4-phenylene-diamine (para-phenylenediamine)
and terephthaloyl chloride in a condensation
reaction yielding hydrochloric acid as a byproduct. The
result has liquid-crystalline behavior, and mechanical
drawing orients the polymer chains in the fiber's
direction.
 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF
KEVLAR

As a protective element, Kevlar is still a relatively new product. Its origins begin in 1965
when DuPont decided that they wanted to manufacture a new tyre in order to save their
customers money. Their aim was to make a tyre that was lighter and more durable than the
tyres that the company sold at the time. There was an anticipated gas shortage looming
and the company knew that if they could develop a stronger, longer-lasting tyre that
helped diminish the amount of gas a car used, it would be hugely successful. DuPont
hired Stephanie Kwolek to be in charge of a team of inventors who would develop the
revolutionary material, Kevlar. After many trials and errors, Kwolek discovered that one of
the materials they developed had extraordinary qualities about it.

Poly-p-Phenylene-terephthalate and polybenzamide were used to make a fibre that could

withstand tension unlike any previously developed fibre, and Kwolek knew straight away
that she and her team had developed something amazing. Kwolek took her fibre to a
technician asked him to place the fibre on a “spinneret” – a machine used to test the
strength of fibres. Charles Smullen, the technician, did not know how amazing the result
of the testing would be. He placed the newly discovered fibre on the spinneret and was
surprised to see that the fibre would not break during the testing. Previously used fibres
such as nylon broke with little tension but this newly developed fibre could withstand
tension that no other fibre could withstand. Kwolek immediately contacted her superiors
to let them know about her revolutionary discovery. Instantly, they knew that she had
developed something that would change the world. DuPont immediately established a
polymer chemistry department and continued developing the fibre until 1971, when the
world was finally introduced to Kevlar.
Structure of the material