Table of Contents
- 1 How does the structure of a polymer structure affect its properties?
- 2 What could have affected the properties of polymers How could the polymer properties be different?
- 3 What is the molecular structure of polymers?
- 4 How does molecular geometry affect chemical properties?
- 5 What is the effect of molecular weight on the mechanical properties of polymer?
- 6 Why are the properties of polymers important?
- 7 How does cross linking affect the properties of a polymer?
- 8 How do the properties of linear and branched polymers differ?
- 9 What are the intra- and inter-polymer characteristics?
- 10 Can we predict polymer behaviour from macroscopic properties?
How does the structure of a polymer structure affect its properties?
Polymers consist of very long molecules that contain chains of carbon. They too are held together by very strong covalent bonds. There are greater intermolecular forces between the long chains compared with smaller simple molecules. This means that polymers have a higher melting point than many other organic molecules.
What could have affected the properties of polymers How could the polymer properties be different?
Many fundamental properties that can be changed with polymers. Overall, the main ways to change and tune the properties of a polymer include changing the length of the polymer chains, creating branched chains from linear polymer chains, crosslinking the polymer chains and adding plasticizers into the polymer.
How do polymers affect the properties?
The physical properties of a polymer are strongly dependent on the size or length of the polymer chain. Long chains get tangled up in each other and stick together far more than short chains. This means that polymers made of long chain molecules have higher melting points than those made of short chains.
What is the molecular structure of polymers?
A polymer is composed of many simple molecules that are repeating structural units called monomers. A single polymer molecule may consist of hundreds to a million monomers and may have a linear, branched, or network structure.
How does molecular geometry affect chemical properties?
What Is Molecular Geometry? Molecular geometry studies the three-dimensional shapes molecules form and how these shapes relate to chemical reactivity and physical characteristics. A molecule’s shape can affect the physical properties of the molecule, such as freezing point, density, and other properties.
How does the molecular weight of a polymer affect its properties?
The lower the molecular weight, lower the transition temperature, viscosity, and the mechanical properties. Due to increased entanglement of chains with increased molecular weight, the polymer gets higher viscosity in molten state, which makes the processing of polymer difficult.
What is the effect of molecular weight on the mechanical properties of polymer?
Why are the properties of polymers important?
Some of the useful properties of various engineering polymers are high strength or modulus to weight ratios (light weight but comparatively stiff and strong), toughness, resilience, resistance to corrosion, lack of conductivity (heat and electrical), color, transparency, processing, and low cost.
What are the properties and uses of polymers?
Uses of polymers
| Polymer | Properties | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Poly(chloroethene) ‘PVC’ | Tough, electrical insulator, can be made hard or flexible | Insulation for electrical wires, windows, gutters, pipes |
| Poly(tetrafluoroethene) ‘PFTE’ | Slippery, chemically unreactive | Non-stick coatings for pans, containers for laboratory substances |
How does cross linking affect the properties of a polymer?
When polymer chains are crosslinked, the material becomes more rigid. Low cross-link densities increase the viscosities of polymer melts. Intermediate cross-link densities transform gummy polymers into materials that have elastomeric properties and potentially high strengths.
How do the properties of linear and branched polymers differ?
The key difference between linear and branched polymers is that linear polymers have a linear structure without any branches whereas branched polymers have a branched structure. Polymers are giant molecules having a very large number of repeating units attached to each other via covalent chemical bonds.
How does the chemical structure of a polymer affect its physical properties?
How does the chemical structure of a polymer affect its physical properties?” Synopsis: It is well understood that the chemical structure of molecules directly affects their physical properties.
What are the intra- and inter-polymer characteristics?
Intra- and Inter-Polymer Characteristics: Intra-polymer structure characteristics: Polymer chains are mostly ‘soft’, ‘stiff’ or in-between. The intra-polymer structure characteristics of the polymers decide whether a long chain polymer is ‘stiff’ or ‘soft’ or something in between.
Can we predict polymer behaviour from macroscopic properties?
Whilst prediction of polymer behaviour has made significant advancement over the last several decades, much of this work is done at the continuum level and therefore a disconnect still exists between the macroscopic properties and the molecular structure.
What is polymer characterization?
Polymer characterization involves measuring any kind of property of a polymer material. It includes both molecular characterization, such as molecular weight, microstructural information, degree of crystallinity, etc., and macroscopic property measurement, such as thermal properties, 1. 2 CHAPTER 1.