Polymers: Chains Link Up

Also called

polymers · polymerisation · addition polymerisation · condensation polymerisation · polythene · polyethene · ethene monomer · free radical polymerisation · nylon 6,6 · amide bond · nylon rope trick · vulcanisation · natural rubber · cross-linking · PHBV · biodegradable polymers · बहुलक · बहुलकीकरण · वल्कनीकरण

Topics

• Polymers are giant molecules built from many small repeating units called monomers.
• Addition polymers form by opening C=C double bonds: ethene → polythene, with no atoms lost.
• A free radical starts the chain: it opens one π bond, and the new radical end attacks the next monomer.
• Condensation polymers lose a small molecule at each link: nylon-6,6 loses water as amide bonds form.
• Nylon-6,6 is made from hexamethylenediamine and adipic acid, each with six carbon atoms.
• In the nylon rope trick, nylon forms where two solutions meet and can be drawn out as a continuous rope.
• Vulcanisation: rubber heated with sulphur (373–415 K) gains sulphur bridges between its chains: tougher, more elastic.
• PHBV, a copolymer of 3-hydroxybutanoic and 3-hydroxypentanoic acids, is broken down by soil bacteria.

About this model

A GLB file of about 970 KB, shown in Lably's 3D viewer and, on a phone, placed in your room with AR. Credit: Model, science and animation: Lably (built procedurally with three.js; no downloaded meshes). | CC BY 4.0. Original geometry and animation made for Lably.

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