Tag: france

Categories
Materials Chemistry

The chemistry of a football shirt – World Cup 2022 final

An infographic on the chemistry of football shirts. The shirts are commonly made of polyesters, which are commonly made via a condensation reaction between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid. Polyester only absorbs 0.4% of its weight in water and wicks away sweat so it evaporates rather than being absorbed. Elastane is another polymer often incorporated into shirts, which gives strength and elasticity. The name, number and sponsor logo on the shirts are often made of another polymer, polyurethane.

With the World Cup final taking place over the coming weekend, here’s an updated graphic on the chemistry of a football shirt, looking at the different polymer materials that are used in their manufacture.