An assignment that talks about the structure & properties of polymers. What polymerization is. The types of polymers. How it affects the economy and environment. Well-organized and structured. Has in-text references and a reference list.
Polymers are known as substances that consist of numerous composite parts. The
word Polymer originates from the Greek word. Polus means many and meros means
part. Polymers occasionally occur as either synthetic substances, natural substances
but frequently as organic substances consisting of molecules that are chain-shaped.
Those molecules are very small and known as monomers. The several parts of
those chain-shaped molecules are bonded together through covalent bonds. A
covalent bond is a shared pair of electrons.
Polymers are arranged by polymerisation. Polymerisation is the process of
connecting the monomers together and forming large macromolecules of various
shapes and sizes. There are two types of polymerisation reactions which is addition
and condensation.
Addition polymerisation starts with unsaturated carbon compounds, an example of
that sort of compound is Ethylene. The double bonds in that compound are broken
up so that no less than two free bonds are formed in all molecules. The two electrons
originally in this bond are used to make new carbon-carbon single bonds with two
other ethylene molecules. Examples of addition polymerisation are polyethylene and
polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Condensation polymerisation is the reaction between monomers with two different
functional groups. When monomers of this sort react they bond together and usually
loses a small molecule which would be a water (H 2O) molecule and that is the
reason this reaction is known as a condensation reaction. Its by-products are
therefore water as well ammonia and HCl while the addition polymerisation does not
have any by-products. Examples of some condensation polymerisation are silicon
and nylon.
Nylon 6,6 is composed up of two monomers known as Hexanedioic acid and 1,6-
diaminohexane with each of these two monomers containing 6 carbons. Hexanedioic
acid is composed up of a hydrocarbon chain with two carboxyl groups attached to
each end.
The properties of the polymers depend on the chemical structure, i.e. its molecular
structure, chain length, types of bonds involved and the nature of the functional
groups. Polymer properties can be balanced by changing the monomer type.
Polymers can either occur naturally or be manufactured by us. Some examples of
naturally occurring polymers (biopolymers) are DNA and RNA, which are two
essential chemicals essential for life. Some other natural polymers are proteins,
which are the polymers of amino acids, the nucleic acids, which are the polymers of
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