Polymer Technology

A homopolymer is a polymer, which is made from only one monomer. We can also say it is a chain made up of identical repeat units, like polyethylene is made up of ethylene repeat units. For example, for a monomer called A:

n = the number of repeat units in the chain.

Naming Polymers

In order to name the polymer

• The prefix “poly” is added to the name of the monomer, which is placed in brackets if there is more than one word.

        Monomer X ———> Poly X

E.g.

Styrene X ———> Polystyrene X

Ethylene X ———> Polyethylene X

Ethylene glycol X ———> Poly(ethylene glycol) X

• Monomers with the structure

are called vinyl monomers and vinyl is included in the polymer name.

• Some ( non-systematic ) or trade names are used to name polymers such as the polyamide nyon 6.10.

The naming of specific polymers will be discussed further in the following chapters.

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