Samuel Emmett Horne Jr. (July 26, 1924 –February 4, 2006)[1] was a research scientist at B. F. Goodrich noted for first synthesizing cis-1,4-polyisoprene,[2] the main polymer contained in natural tree rubber, using Ziegler catalysis.
Although the experiments sometimes led to unpleasant odors and other problems, his parents nevertheless encouraged the young Horne to pursue his interest in chemistry.
Taking that advice, he obtained a position at the B. F. Goodrich Company's Research and Development Center in Brecksville, Ohio in 1950.
As Horne's main interest was in rubber research, he made the decision to join Polysar.
In 1954, immediately following the formation of the joint venture Goodrich-Gulf Chemicals, Inc., an option agreement was obtained from Professor Karl Ziegler to examine his new catalyst system for the polymerization of ethylene.
Horne was called back from vacation to the Research Center to begin work immediately.
When Jim Shipman, who was responsible for the analysis, examined the infrared spectrum, he immediately called Horne and said, "Are you trying to fool us?
They immediately recognized the importance of this discovery and began an intense program to elucidate the chemistry and variables associated with diene polymerizations.
The successful duplication of natural rubber was a goal that had been sought by many scientists for nearly one hundred years.
An extensive synthetic rubber program was carried out during World War II, one of the objectives being to accomplish this synthesis.
In less than six months, they scaled the process to production-size quantities, made bus and truck tires, and ran them under service conditions on the highways.
The test results showed conclusively that the synthetic cis-1,4-polyisoprene was essentially equivalent to natural rubber.
He demonstrated that a wide variety of mixed cis and trans structures could be obtained by the proper choice of ratios of titanium tetrachloride to organo-aluminum.
He defined the effect of temperature, solvent, and other additives to the catalyst to produce the highest percentage of cis-1,4 polymer.