What exactly is a polymer?

Question

Does it have a common structure or are there different basic materials making them up? And what, specifically, IS polymer? Give me an analogy if you must. Thanks!

Answer 1

polymer, chemical compound with high molecular weight consisting of a number of structural units linked together by covalent bonds (see chemical bond). The simple molecules that may become structural units are themselves called monomers; two monomers combine to form a dimer, and three monomers, a trimer. A structural unit is a group having two or more bonding sites. A bonding site may be created by the loss of an atom or group, such as H or OH, or by the breaking up of a double or triple bond, as when ethylene, H2C[double bond]CH2, is converted into a structural unit for polyethylene, -H2C-CH2-. In a linear polymer, the structural units are connected in a chain arrangement and thus need only be bifunctional, i.e., have two bonding sites. When the structural unit is trifunctional (has three bonding sites), a nonlinear, or branched, polymer results. Ethylene, styrene, and ethylene glycol are examples of bifunctional monomers, while glycerin and divinyl benzene are both polyfunctional. Polymers containing a single repeating unit, such as polyethylene, are called homopolymers. Polymers containing two or more different structural units, such as phenol-formaldehyde, are called copolymers. All polymers can be classified as either addition polymers or condensation polymers. An addition polymer is one in which the molecular formula of the repeating structural unit is identical to that of the monomer, e.g., polyethylene and polystyrene. A condensation polymer is one in which the repeating structural unit contains fewer atoms than that of the monomer or monomers because of the splitting off of water or some other substance, e.g., polyesters and polycarbonates. Many polymers occur in nature, such as silk, cellulose, natural rubber, and proteins. In addition, a large number of polymers have been synthesized in the laboratory, leading to such commercially important products as plastics, synthetic fibers, and synthetic rubber. Polymerization, the chemical process of forming polymers from their component monomers, is often a complex process that may be initiated or sustained by heat, pressure, or the presence of one or more catalysts.

Answer 2

The answer to the first question is no - there are many, many types of polymers. A polymer is different things to different people - chemists, engineers and biologists would see them all differently based on the molecules that make up the polymer. But in general, a polymer is a bunch of smaller molecules joined together in a chain. The types of molecules and degree of joining gives the polymer its properties. Think of beads on a string, all connected by chemical bonds.

Types of polymers include DNA strands, plastics, rubbers, gels, proteins and starches are all examples of polymers. Polymers are essential for making everything from a dividing cell, PVC pipe, the non-metal portions of your car, and bread.

Answer 3

Polymer is a term used to describe a very large molecule consisting of structural units and repeating units connected by covalent chemical bonds. The term is derived from the Greek words: polys meaning many, and meros meaning parts .The key feature that distinguishes polymers from other molecules is the repetition of many identical, similar, or complementary molecular subunits in these chains. These subunits, the monomers, are small molecules of low to moderate molecular weight, and are linked to each other during a chemical reaction called polymerization.

Instead of being identical, similar monomers can have varying chemical substituents. The differences between monomers can affect properties such as solubility, flexibility, and strength. In proteins, these differences give the polymer the ability to adopt a biologically-active conformation in preference to others.Identical monomers with nonreactive side groups result in a polymer chain that will tend to adopt a random coil conformation, as described by an ideal chain mathematical model. Although most polymers are organic, with carbon-based monomers, there are also inorganic polymers; for example, the silicones, with a backbone of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms.

Answer 4

A polymer is a chemical with repeating structural units. The units themselves can be a wide variety of types. Plastics are synthetic polymers and there are natural polymers that are used to thicken water like Guar gum. The starting material is called a monomer. mono means one and poly means many.

Answer 5

READ HERE FOR THE SUMMARY

Yes there are many basic materials to make polymer.

A polymer are many molecules linked to each other covalently such as paper or styrofoam. The best analogy to me is that polymers are microscopic chains and the links are the different materials. So you can use different chain links to modify flexibility, strength, and other chemical properties, while you can make the chains as long or short as you want to affect melt, flow, flexibility or other bulk properties.

Answer 6

There are thousands of common polymers. There are polymers like polyethylene terephthalate (soda bottles), polyethylene glycol (used frequently in skin creams), polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon, used to make nonstick pans), polyvinyl chloride (used to make plastic pipes), polypropylene (various plastic implements like, say, an ice scraper), polystyrene (egg cartons), and on and on.

A polymer is a string of monomer units that have been reacted to combine either head-to-tail, head-to-head or tail-to-tail. Most polymers are carbon based, with various other elements (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen being common ones) placed strategically. Each monomer unit is identical and is repeated dozens to millions of times.

Answer 7

a polymer a large molecule formed by combinig small molecules. it is mainly organic due to the c-c backbone with form a strong 4 bond structure. it might be random, alternate ,block .the small molecules that forms a polymer are called monomers.

Answer 8

As simple as I can be...My Chem teacher used to always say "Keep it simple stupid". A polymer is basically a molecule that is bonded and repeated millions of times over. It can be a naturally occurring or synthetic molecule, but the key is that it is repeated over and over. The bonding is called Polymerization, but that can be another question.

Answer 9

lets see..............when you talk of any chemical material............it consists of some atoms which forms the bond and then a molecule then unit cell then a grain and then crystalline material.......(for details see any book on crystallography)....but the sequence which i have mensioned may get break............molecule may not form unit cell.........but they may continue to make the bond and a long chain of molecules get form...............thus if you take the xray diffraction (basic tool for structure charactrization) of such material......you dont get much information about the structure of that material..........such a materials are called amorphous materials................polymers are amongs the amorphous materials where bonds dose not have the directional correlations in space..............thus they have random shapes..........but the bond length(s) between the two ( such as A-B) atoms which take aprt in forming such polymer remains more or less constant.........

Answer 10

Anything that consist of 2 or more monomers. An example of a monomer is a monosaccaride, or single sugar. If two or more monosaccarides combine, you get a polysaccaride, the polymer of this kind of group.