Finding Aids

DuPont Performance Elastomers, LLC manufactures and supplies general purpose and specialty elastomer products. Viton, the first fluoroelastomer, grew out of Dr. Dean R. Rexford's (1915-1997) research of DuPont's Organic Chemicals Department in 1954. The material proved remarkably stable when exposed to chemicals, oils, solvents, and high temperatures, making it ideal for seals, gaskets, O-rings, and similar components in the aerospace and automotive industries. This collection contains materials relating to the history of Viton fluoroelastomer assembled for its 50th anniversary in 2007. They include advertisements, trade catalogs, a copy of the original patent, and a company chronology of developments with Viton between 1954 and 1975.

E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company's Pontchartrain Works in LaPlace, Louisiana, was a major producer of Neoprene and other elastomers in the latter half of the twentieth century. The records consist of manuals, technical reports, brochures, bulletins, and other material from Du Pont's Louisville Works, Montague Works, and its Maydown Works located in the United Kingdom. Most documents were created by the company's Elastomer Chemicals Department and deal with the manufacture of various synthetic rubbers in the 1950s and 1960s.

H.E. Schroeder (1915-2009) was a research chemist who spent most of his career with E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. His papers consist of documents and memorabilia covering his family and professional life.