Section 1 - Polymer Basics

polymers

Large molecules with repeating structural units.

many, units

“Poly” means ____ and “meros” means _____.

petroleum

Major source of synthetic polymers.

Cellulose nitrate

The first human-made polymer.

Bakelite

First synthetic plastic.

Nylon

First synthetic fiber.

conform

Polymers behave differently than small molecules because they can _____, and small molecules can’t.

monomers

The lower molecular weight molecules from which polymers are made.

polymerization

The chemical process of formation of polymers from corresponding monomers.

repeat unit

Once incorporated into a polymer, the monomer unit is now called a ____.

degree of polymerization

Average number of monomer units in a polymer chain.

polydisperse

Polymer samples are ___ meaning they vary in chain length.

short

The number average molecular weight (Mn) is biased towards ___ chains.

long

The weight average molecular weight (Mw) is biased towards ___ chains.

light scattering

A common approach to determine Mw is the _____ method.

polydispersity index (PDI)

Provides a measure of molecular weight distribution.

colligative properties (boiling point, freezing point, osmotic pressure, vapor pressure)

A common approach to determine Mn is using _____.

origin, structure, and types

Classification of polymers can be based on what three things?

decreases

Branching ____ the level of crystallinity.

bifunctional

Monomers should be at least ____ bonding with other molecules to from a polymer.

chain-growth polymerization

Addition polymerization is also called…

step-growth polymerization

Condensation polymerization is also called…

rapid

Step-growth polymerization has ___ monomer consumption.

faster

Chain-growth polymerization has a high molecular weight polymer ____ than step-growth.