polymer Flashcards
What is addition polymerisation?
When monomers are joined to form polymers, with no other products formed
What is condensation polymerisation?
When monomers are joined to form polymers with one small molecule formed (water)
Compare addition vs condensation polymerisation (include examples, monomer, interactions and biodegradability)
addition polymers normally just have van der waals but condensation polymers have dipole-dipole nad hydrogen bonds
How are polyamides formed? (Hint: there are two different ways)
from a dicarboxylic acid and diamine in a condensation reaction
condensation reaction between two amino acids
How are polyesters formed?
A condensation reaction between a diol and dicarboxylic acid
State what nylon 6,6 is made from?
1,6-diaminohexane + hexanedioic acid
Name some uses ofnylon 6,6
Used to make clothing, carpet, rope, airbags and parachutes
Draw an equation showing how nylon 6,6 is formed
State what kevlaris made from
1,4-diaminobenzene and benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid
Name some uses ofkevlar
Used in bulletproof vests, boat construction, car tyres and lightweight spots equipment
Draw an equation showing how kevlaris formed
State what terylene (PET) is made from
Benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid and ethane-1,2diol
Name some uses ofterylene (PET)
Used in plastic bottles, clothing, sheets and sails
Draw an equation showing how terylene (PET) is formed
Why are polyalkenes (addition polymers)non-biodegradable and won’t react when being used?
Have non-polar C-C bonds= unreactive and chemically inert
Why are condensation polymers biodegradable?
- polar bonds (e.g. C=O)in chains = open to attack by nucleophiles
- ∴ can be broken down by hydrolysis
- ∴ are biodegradable but process is very slow
What are the different ways of getting rid of plastics?
burning , burying (landfill) and recycling
What are the pros and cons of landfill
Pros:
- Landfillis cheap and easy method of waste disposal
Cons:
- Requires areas of land
- As waste decomposes, can release methane = greenhouse effect
- ## Leaks from landfill contaminate water supplies
What are the pros and cons of burning plastics
pros:
- Heat can be used to generate electricity
cons:
- Waste gases e.g. CO2will still contributed to greenhouse effect
- toxic gas (e.g. HCL gas) is produced so this process needs to be carefully controlled (need to be neutralised with a base)
What are the two different ways of recycling plastics
- Some plastics can be melted and remoulded
- Some plastics can be cracked into monomers & these can be used to make more plastics or other chemicals
What are the pros and cons of recycling
pros:
- Reduces amount of waste going into landfill
- Saves raw materials, oil = non-renewable
- Cost of recycling plastics is lower than making plastics from scratch
- Produces less COemissions than burning plastics
cons:
- It is technically difficult to recycle plastics
- Collecting, sorting and processing plastic is more expensive than burning/landfill
- Often can’t remake the plastic you started with, have to make something else
- Plastic can be easily contaminated during the recycling process
What can be used to hydrolysed condensation polymers and why can’t addition polymers be hydrolysed?
NaOH/HCL (any strong acid or base)
Addition polymers contains repeating carbon-carbon bonds, which are extremely hard to break because they are non polar
