CHEMISTRY OF LEGOS BY MALISSA GONZALES WHAT ARE

CHEMISTRY OF LEGOS BY MALISSA GONZALES

WHAT ARE THEY MADE OF? • LEGOS HAVE BEEN MADE FROM MANY DIFFERENT CHEMICALS THROUGHOUT HISTORY. • THEY WERE PREVIOUSLY MADE FROM CELLULOSE ACETATE UNTIL 1963. • THIS IS THE SAME MATERIAL CURRENTLY USED TO MAKE GLASSES FRAMES. • THEY ARE CURRENTLY MADE USING ACRYLONITRILE BUTADIENE STYRENE (C 8 H 8)X (C 4 H 6)Y (C 3 H 3 N)Z • CLEAR AND/OR STRETCHY PIECES ARE MADE WITH POLYCARBONATES. • PREVIOUSLY CONTAINED CADMIUM BUT WAS DISCONTINUED DUE TO TOXICITY. • SOME OBJECTS ARE MADE WITH POLYETHYLENE FROM SUGAR CANE.

ACRYLONITRILE BUTADIENE STYRENE (ABS) • ABS IS STRONGER THAN OTHER PLASTICS BUT THEY ARE ALSO OPAQUE WHICH MEANS THEY CANNOT BE MADE INTO CLEAR LEGOS. • MACROLEX DYES ARE ADDED FOR COLORING. • HAS AMAZING RESISTANCE TO MANY ACIDS, INORGANIC SALTS, MOST ALCOHOLS, GLYCERINE, AND HYDROCARBONS. • IT IS A THERMOPLASTIC MEANING THAT THE MIXTURE BECOME PLIABLE WHEN HEATED AND HARDENED WHEN COOLED. • IT IS HEATED TO 230°C TO BECOME SOFT ENOUGH TO PUSH INTO THE MOLDS AT A PRESSURE OF 25 -150 TONS BEFORE BEING LEFT TO COOL FOR 10 -15 SECONDS.

ACRYLONITRILE BUTADIENE STYRENE (ABS) CONT. • IT IS AN MIXTURE OF PRODUCTS THAT DON’T TYPICALLY COMBINE TOGETHER AS A SINGLE PRODUCT. • CAN BE MADE IN 2 DIFFERENT WAYS • DISSOLVED POLYBUTADIENE IN LIQUID ACRYLONITRILE AND STYRENE AND THEN POLYMERIZING THE MONOMERS. • MAKING THE POLYBUTADIENE INTO A LIQUID LATEX CONSISTENCY, THEN ADDING THE STYRENE AND ACRYLONITRILE BEFORE COPOLYMERIZING THEM.

ACRYLONITRILE (CH 2 CHCN) • IT’S AN ORGANIC COMPOUND. • IT IS A CLEAR, COLORLESS LIQUID WITH A SLIGHT ODOR. • IT IS A SYNTHETIC MONOMER. • MADE FROM PROPYLENE AND AMMONIA (C 3 H 6 AND NH 4) • USED TO MAKE LEGOS BECAUSE OF ITS RESILIENCE TO HEAT. • HAS A MOLAR MASS OF 53. 06 G/MOL.

BUTADIENE (C 4 H 6) • IT IS A GAS THAT CAN BE CONDENSED INTO A LIQUID. • HAS A GASOLINE-LIKE ODOR. • OBTAINED FROM THE C 4 FRACTION OF STEAM CRACKING* • USED IN LEGOS BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT STRENGTH IT PROVIDES. • INSOLUBLE IN WATER. • SOLUBLE IN ETHANOK, ETHER, ACETONE, AND BENZENE. • *STEAM CRACKING: THE PROCESS OF BREAKING DOWN SATURATED HYDROCARBONS.

STYRENE (C 8 H 8) • USED IN LEGOS BECAUSE OF IT’S INABILITY TO BE BENT OR CHANGED. • IT IS A COLORLESS, OILY LIQUID THAT HAS A SWEET SMELL AND EVAPORATES EASILY. • IT’S A DERIVATIVE OF BENZENE. • TIRES AND OTHER ELASTIC LEGO MATERIALS ARE CREATED USING STYRENE BUTADIENE STYRENE (SBS)

STYRENE BUTADIENE STYRENE (SBS) • IT IS A HARD RUBBER. • IT IS USED FOR TIRE TREADS AND SOLES OF SHOES BECAUSE OF IT’S DURABILITY. • IT IS A COPOLYMER CALLED A BLOCK COPOLYMER. • DURABLE ENOUGH TO NOT BREAK WHEN DROPPED OR STEPPED ON. • SOFT ENOUGH TO LOOK LIKE A LEGO TIRE. * • *FYI - LEGO IS THE LARGEST MANUFACTURER OF TIRES IN THE WORLD.

TESTING ON LEGOS • LEGOS ARE TESTING FOR STRENGTH AND DURABILITY. • THE AVERAGE LEGO WEIGHS ABOUT 1. 125 G • A 2 X 2 SIZED LEGO CAN WITHSTAND A WEIGHT UP TO 430 KG. • ONE OF THE TESTS IS DONE BY DROPPING OBJECTS ON TOP OF THE BRICKS TO MAKE SURE THEY DON’T BREAK OR SPLINTER. • THEY ARE TESTED TO MAKE SURE THEY CAUSE ENOUGH PAIN TO HURT WITHOUT BREAKING.

• HTTPS: //WWW. COMPOUNDCHEM. COM/2018/04/09/LEGO/ • HTTP: //WWW. CHEMISTRYISLIFE. COM/THE-CHEMISTRY-OF-LEGOS • HTTPS: //WWW. CREATIVEMECHANISMS. COM/BLOG/EVERYTHING-YOU-NEED-TOKNOW-ABOUT-ABS-PLASTIC • HTTPS: //WWW. DOW. COM/HYDROCARBONS/C 4/PROD/BUTA. HTM • HTTPS: //WWW. COMPOUNDCHEM. COM/2014/09/01/BENZENE-DERIVATIVES-INORGANIC-CHEMISTRY/ • HTTP: //PSLC. WS/MACROG/SBS. HTM