Chemical Properties Of A Polymer

Polymers a large molecules made up of a chain of smaller molecules, known as monomers. The monomers that a polymer is made up of decide its structure and therefore it's function. These monomers are linked and coiled in a very specific manor giving the polymer a specific tertiary structure (an extensively coiled and linked polymer chain caused as a result of the formation of more bonds forming). This tertiary structure is crucial to the function of a polymer as it denotes the necessary shape of the complementary molecule. This is easier explained through an example.

One of the polymers used is polyvinylpyrrolidine, which is also used to glue the layers of wood in plywood together. An non-water soluble polymer called

To keep it as simple as possible, (K.I.S.S.) this topic involves the study of: 1. POLYMERS FROM PETROCHEMICALS & BIOMASS

The most common form of polyethylene is petroleum based or olefins based; as before mentioned polyethylene compounds have a wide commercial applicability and are made from non-renewable resources (Harding, Dennis, von Blottnitz, Harrison, & S.T.L., 2007). Its manufacturing processes are regarded as energy intensive and release significant amount of CO2 and heat into the atmosphere (Broderick, 2008). Next a little more detailed description of polyethylene’s production processes will be presented, with a focus on the way the material inputs are extracted and synthesized.

Molecule- a group of atoms bonded together, representing the smallest fundamental unit of a chemical compound that can take part in a chemical

Polymerization: converts gaseous olefins, such as propylene and butylene, into larger molecules in the gasoline range.

Plastics are also called polymers, are produced by natural products like oil, natural gas or coal.

(Click Slide). Molecular compounds are everywhere in our every day lives! Sugar cane, for example, is a molecular renewable compound. Although we do not think about it, all of our consumer products that we buy and use are made of molecular compounds that come from various natural resources. Natural resources can be categorized into 2 divisions: renewable resources and non-renewable resources.

The two molecules on the left are the chemicals that reacted to make Kevlar, which is the molecule on the right. Kevlar can be grown to different lengths so when people manufacture it, it can be fine tuned to a specific standard depending on what the intended use is for. This makes it so there are many different Kevlar grades that you can purchase and use. The chemicals used to make Kevlar are polyparaphenylene terephthalamide and terephthaloyl chloride. After this reaction is finished, the polymer that is produced is spun into strong, thick fibers. This polymer is extremely strongly bonded, and each strand is bound together by hydrogen

Polymers are formed through a process of polymerisation reactions (10), the most common reaction types being addition and condensation reactions (10). In an addition polymerisation reaction (Figure 1), double-bonded hydrocarbons (alkenes) react together to break their double bonds and covalently bond to form monomers (10). Highly branched molecules have the inability to 'line up' with one another which causes an amorphous solid, which does not have a predictable arrangement or repeating pattern (10). Long-chain molecules have regular and repeating structure which causes cyrstallinity, due to the increased attraction of intermolecular forces (10). Condensation reactions occur when a hydrocarbon molecule also contains oxygen, where two functional groups containing hydrogen are present on each molecule (10). These molecules form a dimer when attached together which then combine to create a polymer, and results in a water product

30-33). Edexcel Limited. Jenkins, A., Kratochvíl, P., Stepto, R. F., & Suter, U. W. (2009). Glossary of Basic Terms in Polymer Science. Pure and Applied Chemistry , 68 (12), 2287-2311.

Carbon has unique properties that allow macromolecules to form. One is that carbon can form four covalent bonds. This is because of the four valence electrons it has. A carbon atom can have a triple bond with one atom and still have an extra electron to share with another atom. Carbon bonds can take on different shapes: linear, branched, or ring-shaped. Carbon also bonds with functional groups. Functional groups are molecules with unique chemical characteristics and properties. These include hydroxyl and phosphate groups. Carbon containing molecules can have multiple forms. These different forms are called isomers. These different molecules can have the same molecular formula but will have different shapes and characteristics. Structural isomers

Proteins are polymeric chains that are built from monomers called amino acids. All structural and functional properties of proteins derive from the chemical properties of the polypeptide chain. There are four levels of protein structural organization: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. Primary structure is defined as the linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. The secondary structure refers to certain regular geometric figures of the chain. Tertiary structure results from long-range contacts within the chain. The quaternary structure is the organization of protein subunits, or two or more independent polypeptide chains.

Alkenes—referred to as olefins due to their oil forming tendency with chlorine—play an important role in the production of polymers. The work by Ziegler and Natta on the catalysts for polymerization of alkenes established the roots of the polymer industry. However, a major catalyst to its growth was the great discovery made by Grubbs, Schrock and Chauvin that won them the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2005—olefin metathesis.

Polylactic acid polymers (PLA) appear to be a very promising material for use as a