Introduction To Polymer Science Flashcards
What was the first man made polymer?
Nitrocellulax made in 1868 by John Wesley by reacting nitric acid with camphor and pyrixin.
What is a polymer?
A polymer is a macromolecule made by the sequential reaction of smaller elementary units called monomers with a molecular weight in the range 10^4 -10^7.
What is a monomer?
A monomer is a molecule with a minimum functionality of two that can react to form a polymer.
What is an oligomer?
An oligomer is a short chained synthesized polymer with a molecular weight less than 10^4.
What is a repeating unit?
A repeating unit is a structure composing of the minimum number of monomers required to create a polymer.
What is the degree of polymerization.
Degree of polymerization is the number of repeating units.present in a polymer.
What are the methods of classifying polymers?
- By chain structure
a. Linear chains
b. Branched chains
c. Star chains
d. Polymer networks
e. Interpenetrating network
f. Semi interpenetrating network - By thermal behavior
a. Thermoset: retains initial structure
b. Thermoplastic: meltable and re-forgeable - By application
- By origin
a. Synthetic polymer
b. Inorganic polymer
c. Biopolymers
d. Synthetic organic polymers - By monomer composition
a. Homopolymer : aaaaaa
b. Black co-polymer: aaaabbbb
c. Graft co-polymer: a:b a:b a:b a:b
d. Random co-polymer: abaabbaabbbab
e. Alternating: abaabbaabbbab - By chain configuration
a. Monomer orientation
b. Cis trans isomerism
Application of polymers
- Transportation
- Entertainment
- Medicinal
- IT
- Currency
- Clothing
- Literally anything else
Advantages of polymers
- Good Thermal and electrical insulation
- Good weight to strength ratio
- Cost
- Good corrosion resistance
- Easy to meld
Disadvantages of polymers
- Non biodegradable
- Flammable
List five contributors to Polymer Science
John Wesley
Karl Ziegler
Giulio Natta
Carl Marvel
Alan Hanger
