Lesson 1

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from the polymer chemistry lecture.

Polymer

A long-chain molecule composed of a large number of repeating units of identical structure.

Monomer

The simple molecular unit that can chemically bond with other molecules in a long chain; the building block of a polymer.

Plastics

Polymers that are synthetic or man-made.

Natural Polymers

Naturally occurring organic compounds extracted from organic sources like algae, plants, and animals.

Synthetic Polymers

Man-made polymers derived from petrochemical products, often modified to achieve desirable properties under controlled conditions.

Organic Polymeries s

Polymers mainly consisting of carbon and hydrogen atoms, often with oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur.

Inorganic Polymers

Polymers with a non-carbon-based polymeric structure, commonly with a backbone of silicon, phosphorus, or boron.

Polysiloxane

A typical inorganic polymer with a backbone comprised of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms; also known as silicone.

Homopolymers

Polymer composed of only one repeating unit in the polymer molecules

Copolymers

Polymer chains that contain more than one repeating unit

Random Copolymer

The repeating units are arranged randomly on the chain molecule

Alternating Copolymer

There is an ordered (alternating) arrangement of the two repeating units along the polymer chain.

Block Copolymer

The chain consists of relatively long sequences (blocks) of each repeating unit chemically bound together.

Graft Copolymer

Sequences of one monomer (repeating unit) are “grafted” onto backbone of the another monomer type.