Introduction To Polymer Science Flashcards
(11 cards)
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
