Question

Polyester is a natural fiber.
A. True
B. False

Answer 1

Hint: We have studied about fibers and polymers in organic chemistry. Polyester belongs to the class of polymers that is synthetic in nature. From the name we can see that there is an ester present in the name. Because there is an ester functional group present in the repetitive unit of the polymer.

Complete step by step answer:
We need to know that the chemical name of polyester is – Polyethylene terephthalate also referred to as PET.
We must need to know that the polyesters are made up of naturally occurring chemicals such as cutin of plant cuticles and from synthetic chemicals such as from polybutyrate. But the polyesters are mostly synthetic in nature.
As we know that the polyesters fibers are spun together with natural fibers to produce a cloth which has blended properties. This is the reason why polyester is widely used in clothing and textiles.
Cotton-polyester blends are strong, wrinkle and tear resistant and they do not shrink much. While synthetic fibers have high resistance to water, wind and environment effects. They are lightly resistant to fire and can melt.
We must know that depending upon the chemical structure, polyester can be a thermoplastic or a thermoset.
PET or polyethylene terephthalate is a man-made polymer and so it is called synthetic polymer.

Thus, the correct answer to the question is option B – False.

Note: We must remember that the polyester family has various polymers which have a wide range of applications for industrial as well as other economical purposes. Polyester is generally used for fabric and textiles. These fabric and textiles are manufactured using polyester yarns or fibers. Polyesters are also used to manufacture bottles, films, tarpaulin, canoes, liquid crystal display, holograms, filters, etc. In industries, PET is used widely due to its easy manufacturing capability, low cost, easily accessible raw materials, recyclability and outstanding mechanical and chemical properties.