Polymer chemistry

thumb|upright=0.8|Appearance of real linear polymer chains as recorded using an atomic force microscope on a surface, under liquid medium. Chain [[contour length for this polymer is ~204 nm; thickness is ~0.4 nm.]]

thumb|Chemical structure of a polypeptide macromolecule

chemistry subdiscipline that deals with the structures, chemical synthesis and properties of polymers

thumb|Biodegradable plastic kitchen utensil|utensils thumb|Flower wrapping made of PLA-blend bio-flex Bioplastics are plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources. In the context of bioeconomy and the circular economy, bioplastics remain topical. Conventional petro-based polymers are increasingly blended with bioplastics to manufacture "bio-attributed" or "mass-balanced" plastic products—so the difference between bio- and other plastics might be difficult to define.

thumb|right|The 15-crown-5 [[crown ether, a cyclic oligomer, and its monomer, ethylene oxide.]] In chemistry and biochemistry, an oligomer () is a molecule that consists of a few repeating units which could be derived, actually or conceptually, from smaller molecules, monomers. The name is composed of Greek elements oligo-, "a few" and -mer, "parts". An adjective form is oligomeric.

right|thumb|350px|Different types of polymers: 1) homopolymer 2) alternating copolymer 3) random copolymer 4) block copolymer 5) graft copolymer.

polymer material that irreversibly cures to a solid

In organic chemistry, a polyol is an organic compound containing multiple hydroxyl groups (). The term "polyol" can have slightly different meanings depending on whether it is used in food science or polymer chemistry. Polyols containing two, three and four hydroxyl groups are diols, triols, and tetrols, respectively.

polymer produced via a condensation reaction

reversible transition in amorphous materials at which amorphous polymers go from hard to viscous

a catalyst used in the synthesis of polymers of 1-alkenes

thumb|Coacervate droplets dispersed in a dilute phaseCoacervate ( or ) is an aqueous phase rich in macromolecules such as synthetic polymers, proteins or nucleic acids. It forms through liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS), leading to a dense phase in thermodynamic equilibrium with a dilute phase. The dispersed droplets of dense phase are also called coacervates, micro-coacervates or coacervate droplets. These structures draw a lot of interest because they form spontaneously from aqueous mixtures and provide stable compartmentalization without the need of a membrane—they are protocell candida

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thumb|right|A ball-and-stick model of syndiotactic polypropylene.

number of monomeric units in a macromolecule or polymer

process of hardening a material into cross-linked polymer chains

thumb|200px|Chemical structures of two synthetic polyelectrolytes, as examples. To the left is sodium polystyrene sulfonate|poly(sodium styrene sulfonate) (PSS), and to the right is [[polyacrylic acid (PAA). Both are negatively charged polyelectrolytes when dissociated. PSS is a 'strong' polyelectrolyte (fully charged in solution), whereas PAA is 'weak' (partially charged).]]

in chemistry

polymerization mechanism

characteristic number of a fluid for the relation between heat produced by viscosity and heat received from outside by conduction

thumb|A uniform (monodisperse) collectionthumb|A non-uniform (polydisperse) collection

Polyaddition (or addition polymerisation ) is a polymerization reaction that forms polymers via individual independent addition reactions. Polyaddition occurs as a reaction between functional groups on molecules with low degrees of polymerization, such as dimers, trimers and oligomers, to form species of higher molar mass. Only at nearly complete conversions does the polymer form, as in polycondensation and in contrast to chain polymerization.

foam made of plastic

alteration in the polymer properties under the influence of environmental factors

determination of the softening point for materials that have no definite melting point

In structural biology, a protomer is the structural unit of an oligomeric protein. It is the smallest unit composed of at least one protein chain. The protomers associate to form a larger oligomer of two or more copies of this unit. Protomers usually arrange in cyclic symmetry to form closed point group symmetries.

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thumb|right|200px|The structure of the repeating unit of PPP thumb|right|200px|Space-filling model of a short section of PPP 'Poly(p-phenylene) (PPP') is made of repeating p-phenylene units, which act as the precursor to a conducting polymer of the rigid-rod polymer family. The synthesis of PPP has proven challenging, but has been accomplished through excess polycondensation with the Suzuki coupling method.

An osmometer is a device for measuring the osmotic strength of a solution, colloid, or compound.

measurement of property of a thermoplastic polymer as a means of quality control

modified type of wood made transparent

Methylaluminoxane, commonly called MAO, is a mixture of organoaluminium compounds with the approximate formula (Al(CH3)O)n. It is usually encountered as a solution in (aromatic) solvents, commonly toluene but also xylene, cumene, or mesitylene, Used in large excess, it activates precatalysts for alkene polymerization.

thumb|Course of a redox-initiated methyl methacrylate substance polymerization with clearly visible Trommsdorff-Norrish-effect / autoacceleration

Lattice model of polymer solutions

chemical reaction that terminates a chain reaction

peer-reviewed journal for polymer science

temperature at which a polymer or plastic sample deforms under a specified load

part of a polymer whose repetition would produce the complete polymer chain

Term in polymer science

copolymer

in science, the simplest model describing a polymer

Telomerization is a reaction that produces a particular kind of oligomer with two distinct end groups. The oligomer is called a telomer. Some telomerizations proceed by radical pathways, many do not. A generic equation is: where M is the monomer, and A and B are the end groups, and n is the degree of polymerization.

a test used to determine the softening point of materials that have no definite melting point

increase in cross-sectional area of a polymer after it exits an extrusion die

process of coating the surface of cookware with a heat, corrosion, and stick resistant hard coating by heating fat or oil

epoxy-based molecule

Polybutene is an organic polymer made from a mixture of 1-butene, 2-butene, and isobutylene. C4 hydrocarbons, produced during ethylene steam cracking in oil processing, are also used as supplemental feed for polybutene. It is similar to polyisobutylene (PIB), which is produced from essentially pure isobutylene made in a C4 complex of a major refinery. The presence of isomers other than isobutylene can have several effects including: lower reactivity due to steric hindrance at the terminal carbon in, for example in polyisobutenylsuccinic anhydride (PIBSA) dispersant manufacture; and in the mole

equation that gives a relation between intrinsic viscosity and molecular weight

thumb|Polymers prior (no gel) and after crosslinking (gel)

temperature of material when it arbitrarily softens

equation

Propagation of a chemical chain reaction by continuously regenerating a reactive species

Idealization in polymer thermodynamics

reaction in which monomers combine into a polymer without by-products

homogeneous mixture containing dissolved polymers

cracks in many different elastomers due to ozone attack

Targeted manipulation of molecular weight distribution