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IG Chemistry CH-29

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10 views8 pages

IG Chemistry CH-29

Uploaded by

nini myintngwe
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 29

Synthetic Polymers

Polymerization

 is the joining up of lots of little molecules ( monomers ) to make one big


molecule ( polymer ).

Addition Polymerization

 Molecules simply add onto each other without anything else being formed.

Polymerization of Ethenes

 Ethene is the smallest alkene.


 Polymerization of ethene → poly(ethene) or polythene.
 Chain length → 4000 - 40000

Uses of polyethene

1) Low density poly(ethene) (LDPE) – very flexible and not


strong
 Polythene bags
2) High density poly(ethene) (HDPE) - greater strength and
rigidity
 Plastic (milk) bottles
Polymerization of propene

 Propene is a three-carbon alkene containing double bond (CH3CH═CH2)


 Polymerization of propene → poly(propene) or polypropylene.

Uses of poly (propene)

 stronger than poly(ethene) to make ropes and crates


Polymerization of chloroethene

 Chloroethene (CH2═CHCl) → also called vinyl chloride


 Polymerization of chloroethene → poly(chloroethene) or
polyvinylchloride [PVC]

Uses of poly(chloroethene)

 Quite strong and rigid - water pipes and replacement windows


 Flexible by adding plasticizers - sheet floor covering, clothing
 No electricity conduction - used for electrical insulation
Polymerization of Tetrafluoroethene

 Tetrafluoroethene - all H are replaced by fluorine (CF2═CF2)


 Polymerization of tetrafluoroethene → poly(tetrafluoroethene) [ PTFE] or
Teflon

Uses of poly(tetrafluoroethene)

 very unreactive due to the strong carbon-fluorine bonds


o non-stick coating for pots and pans
o lining containers for corrosive chemicals.

Working out the monomers for a given additional polymers

 Given the structure of a polymer → ask to deduce the monomer

1) Find the repeat unit


2) Replace C-C with C=C
3) Get rid of continuous
bonds

Disposable of additional
polymers
A. Dispose(bury) them in landfill sites → unchanged for thousands of years in big
holes

B. Incinerate (burn) plastics (Denmark, Japan) → used for electricity from heat
produced but CO2 production will cause global warming

Solution → Recycling of plastics (Why?)

1) To save the raw materials

2) It takes times (very long) to break them (polyethene/ polychloroethene) down


in the environment as they contain strong covalent bonds and non-biodegradable.
Condensation polymerization

 Condensation polymerization (making a polyester) → small molecule (H2O


or HCl) is lost

The monomers

 Two monomers combine


o one monomer is diol (two alcohol (-OH) functional group at both
ends)
o other monomer is dicarboxylic acid (two carboxyl group (-COOH) at
both ends)

Forming a polyester
 diol and dicarboxylic molecules join together with loss of a water molecule

Biodegradable
polysters
 polyester is biodegradable (takes hundreds of years), called bio-polyesters,
due to more reactive ester linkage
 can be made from lactic acids (polylactic acids [PLA])
o biodegradable plastic bags
o internal stitches in surgery

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