CHEM 1106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Low-Density Polyethylene, Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene, Polyethylene
3 Apr 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Plastics are a subset of all polymers (all plastics are polymers but not all polymers are plastics), most of which are organic molecules. Abbreviated list of polymers: sports, cars, clothing, stockings, plumbing, car tires, car bumpers, hockey pucks, insulation, containers, ilms, devices (ipods, cell phones) Many of them have formula weights in the thousands and up to millions. Each h atom is 1 unit weight and each c atom is a 12-unit weight. The word poly means many and mer means parts, so polymer broken down means many parts. Polymers consist of many smaller molecules called monomers that are chemically connected to form a larger macromolecule. Many natural substances exist as polymers (biopolymers) including: starch, cotton (cellulose), wood (cellulose), and proteins, dna. Celluloid a hybrid (part natural, part synthetic) polymer (examples: ilm reel, guitar picks, and nail polish) Celluloid was discovered and produced on a small scale many years ago, circa 1855.
