Organic Chemistry: Condensation Polymerisation Flashcards

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers condensation polymerisation, specific polymer examples (Nylon, Kevlar, Terylene), chemical linkages, and the historical and environmental context of polymers based on the lecture notes.

Condensation reaction

A reaction where two molecules react together and a small molecule, often water ($H_2O$) or hydrogen chloride ($HCl$), is eliminated.

Condensation polymer

A long-chain polymer normally made from two different monomers, each having two functional groups that react by eliminating a small molecule.

Polyester

A condensation polymer containing a repeated ester linkage ($-COO-$), typically formed from diols and dicarboxylic acids.

Ester linkage

The functional group represented as $-COO-$ that connects monomers in a polyester.

Terylene

A specific polyester made from benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid and ethane-1,2-diol.

Polyamide

A condensation polymer containing a repeated amide linkage ($-CONH-$), formed from diamines and dicarboxylic acids.

Amide linkage

The chemical group $-CONH-$ that connects monomers in polyamides, such as Nylon or Kevlar.

Nylon-6,6

A polyamide made from 1,6-diaminohexane and hexane-1,6-dicarboxylic acid.

Nylon-6,10

A polyamide made from 1,6-diaminohexane and decane-1,10-dicarboxylic acid.

Kevlar

A polyamide made from benzene-1,4-diamine and benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid, known for being five times stronger than steel, weight for weight.

Stephanie Kwolek

The chemist at the DuPont company who developed Kevlar in the 1960s.

Polypeptides

Polyamides formed from amino acid monomers, where the amine group of one amino acid reacts with the carboxylic acid group of another.

Peptide link

A specific name for an amide linkage when it is formed between amino acids.

Hydrolysis

The chemical process that breaks down condensation polymers back into their monomers by adding water; it is the reverse of the polymerisation reaction.

Biodegradable

The ability of a material, such as polyesters and polyamides, to be broken down by natural processes, often through hydrolysis.

Poly(alkenes)

Addition polymers like poly(ethene) that are not biodegradable because they consist of unreactive, non-polar $C-H$ and $C-C$ bonds.

Hermann Staudinger

The chemist awarded the 1953 Nobel Prize for proving that polymers are giant molecules (macromolecules) held together by normal covalent bonds.

Benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid

A dicarboxylic acid monomer used in the production of both Terylene and Kevlar.

Repeat unit

The part of a polymer chain that starts at any point and stops just before the same pattern of atoms begins again, often shown within brackets.

Recycling degradation

The process where polymer chains break and shorten during melting and reforming, limiting the number of times a plastic can be recycled.