The first semi-commercial Bakelizer, from Baekeland's laboratory, 1935īaekeland started semi-commercial production of his new material in his home laboratory, marketing it as a material for electrical insulators. He announced his invention at a meeting of the American Chemical Society on February 5, 1909. Baekeland also filed for patent protection in other countries, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and Spain. Bakelite, his 'method of making insoluble products of phenol and formaldehyde,' was filed on July 13, 1907, and granted on December 7, 1909. : 9īaekeland filed a substantial number of patents in the area. : 58–59 Baekeland considered the possibilities of using a wide variety of filling materials, including cotton, powdered bronze, and slate dust, but was most successful with wood and asbestos fibers, though asbestos was gradually abandoned by all manufacturers due to stricter environmental laws.

It was the first synthetic thermosetting plastic produced, and Baekeland speculated on 'the thousand and one. By controlling the pressure and temperature applied to phenol and formaldehyde, Baekeland produced a hard moldable material that he named 'Bakelite,' after himself. īaekeland then began experimenting on strengthening wood by impregnating it with a synthetic resin, rather than coating it. Baekeland produced a soluble phenol-formaldehyde shellac called 'Novolak', but it was not a market success. Baekeland's initial intent was to find a replacement for shellac, a material in limited supply because it was made naturally from the excretion of lac insects (specifically Kerria lacca). Chemists had begun to recognize that many natural resins and fibers were polymers. Baekeland was already wealthy due to his invention of Velox photographic paper when he began to investigate the reactions of phenol and formaldehyde in his home laboratory.

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