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CONSUMER CHEMISTRY
Quarter 1- Organic Chemistry
Week 7 Module 7: Polymers

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

 9

CONSUMER CHEMISTRY
Quarter 1 - Organic Chemistry
Week 7 Module 7: Polymers

Consumer Chemistry – Grade 9 Elective for Special Science Classes

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Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Organic Chemistry
Module 7: Polymers
2nd edition, September 2021

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 ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Polymers

Photo is from unknown author but licensed by CCBY-SA

For hundreds of years, people used molecules just as nature provided them .
Today , people have found ways to be able to synthesize and improve these molecules
in the laboratories. The discovery of this new class of compounds completely changed
our way of living. The clothes we wear, the toys children play with , the cooking
utensils in our kitchen, tables, chairs, automobiles, even some parts of our body can
all be made of these new compounds plastics. The term ' plastic' initially meant '
capable of being molded'. Plastics and other synthetically made compounds like
textiles and rubbers are made up of molecules called polymers.

What I Need to Know

This module will allow you to learn about the polymers and how they are
formed, their advantages and disadvantages.

So, let’s start. Just read and follow the instruction in this module. Good luck
and have fun!

After going through his module you are expected to:

1. define/describe a polymer ;
2. trace the discovery of polymers/ plastic;
3. cite advantages and disadvantages of using them;
4. discuss the properties, production and uses of the polymers; and
5. appreciate the positive contributions of polymers to our daily lives.

What I Know

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Write your chosen answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Approximately how many carbon atoms might be linked together in a polymer

molecule?
A. five B. fifty C. one hundred D. ten thousand

2. What name is given to the small molecules that can be joined together to form a
polymer?
A. monomer B. monocle C. monoculture D. monocycle
3. What monomer would be used to make the polymer poly (propene) ?

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 A. ethene B. ethyne C. propane D. propene
4. What would be the name of the polymer made from many phenylethene
monomers joined together ?
A. poly(chloroethene) C. poly (tetrafluoroethene)
B. poly(phenylethene) D. poly(vinyl chloride)
5. Give the typical use of polythene.
A. clothing C. plastic bags
B. insulating wires D. non-stick surfaces on frying pans
6. Plastic commonly used for window frames, gutters and drain pipes.
A. poly(chloroethene), also called PVC
B. poly (ester), (term for fabric or textile)
C. poly(propene) , also called polypropene
D. poly(phenylethene), also called polystyrene
7. The term biodegradable means _____.
A. It can be kept forever.
B. It can be made from plants.
C. It can be dissolved into water.
D. It will rot away due to the action of living things.
8. The most environmentally friendly way to dispose of plastics is _____ .
A. dumping anywhere C. landfill
B. incineration D. recycling
9. A kind of plastic which softens on heating and hardens back to its original from
on cooling.
A. thermoplastic B. thermos C. thermosetting D. thermal temperature
10. Material that increases the bulk of objects is _____ .
A. antioxidant C. plasticizer
B. filler D. reinforcing agents
11. Materials added usually to increase the strength from the polymer to itself.
A. antioxidant B. filler C. plasticizer D. reinforcing agents
12. Production of polymers wherein similar monomer units continuously ass to the
active sites as a double bond or a triple bond is _____ .
A. addition polymerization C. division polymerization
B. condensation polymerization D. multiplication polymerization
13. Formation of polymers wherein there is loss of small molecules between two
usually different molecules is _____ .
A. addition polymerization C. division polymerization
B. condensation polymerization D. multiplication polymerization
14. A special term that refers to the way pendant ( hanging) groups are arranged
on the polymer backbone
A. tacticity C. obesity
B. technicality D. obviously
15. One of the following is NOT included in the steps of polymerization.
A. final stage C. propagation stage
B. initiation stage D. termination stage

POLYMERS

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 What’s In
Identify the following periods: Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

_____ 1. A broad prehistoric period during which this material ( where the name of
the period derived ) was widely used to make tools with an edge , a point,
or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and
ended between 8700 BCE and 2000 BCE, with the advent of metalworking.
_____ 2. A historical period that was characterized by the use of this material
( where the name of the period derived ) , in some areas photo-writing, and
other early features of urban civilization, start date is 3000 BC and ended
1200 BC.
_____ 3. A period in human history that stared between 1200 B.C. and 600 B.C.,
depending on the region
_____ 4. The development of this material ( where the name of the age is derived)
started with natural materials that exhibited its properties. Modern
synthetic materials of this kind were invented around 100 years . But most
materials of this kind were invented in the 1920s.

What’s New
Activity 1
SCRAMBLED WORDS

From the scrambled words decipher the possible words that can be formed.
These are the words that you are going to encounter as you go along with this
module .Write your answer on your answer sheet.
1._________ R E M L Y P O

2. ________ I C T A S P L

3.________ S E T M O T H E R

4.________ S A L P I C M O R E H T

5. ________ E P T

6. ________ C P V

7.________ N L Y N O

8.________ R E M M O O N

9. ________ O L Y R I T I N O A Z E M P

10._______ S R C O O P Y L E M

What Is It

PLASTICS AND POLYMERS

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 Plastics, especially the plastics of our most common commercial products, are
materials that we can shape into virtually any form we want. The word itself comes
from the Greek plastikos, “ suitable for molding or shaping.” We can form plastics
into round, hard, resilient bowling balls, draw them out into the thin, flexible threads
of synthetic fibers , mold them into intricately designed, long-running machine parts,
or flatten then into flimsy but tough sheets of clinging kitchen film. Today the word
plastic refers mostly to a property of a material: its ability to be shaped into the
myriad forms of today’s commercial and consumer products.
When we speak of polymer, though , we return to the molecular level of matter.
All the plastics of our everyday lives, as well as all the proteins and the starch and
cellulose of our foods, the cotton, silk , and wool of our textiles , and even the DNA
that carries the genetic code within the nucleus of the cell are formed of enormously
large polymeric molecules. The combination of the Greek words poly, meaning
“ many”, and meros “ , “ parts,” gives us the word for the molecules that compose
these substances , polymer. A polymer is a molecule of very high molecular weight,
composed of a great many much smaller parts joined together through chemical
bonds.
As the word implies , polymers are extremely large molecules, sometimes
called macromolecules to emphasize their very large size. The individual parts that
combine to form them, monomers from the Greek mono, “one” , join to each other in
enormously large numbers to produce polymers with molecular weights ranging from
the tens of thousands to millions of atomic mass units. Often the monomers unite to
form an enormously long, linear molecular thread, very much like a long chain we
might find in a hardware store. In other polymers the chains may be branched to
various degrees, or they may be interconnected at occasional junctions, or so
frequently that they form a web or even rigid, three dimensional lattice ( Figure 2 ).
In any event, a polymer is a substance composed of huge molecules in the form of a
very long chains, sometimes as sheets, sometimes as intricate , three -dimensional
lattices.

CARBON - BASED POLYMERS

Plastic materials have a great contribution made on the way we live every day .
They are found in almost every home as furniture , toys, grocery bags, window and
shower curtains , table covers, mattresses , and containers of any kind. Before, you
found them in compact discs, radio casings, personal computers or laptops,
television set, and other electronic gadgets.
In many sports equipment , they are also made of plastic or have plastic parts.
like basketball, tents, rackets, bicycles, paragliders, and tents. Architects and
engineers are also using plastic materials in the form of water pipes, insulating
materials, wall panels, roofing, water fixtures, shower enclosures, window frames ,
and floor tiles. Plastics are also used in the field of medicines which include
packaging of tablets, thread of stitching wounds, syringes, gloves, medical implants
and prostheses.

THE AGE OF PLASTICS

If an era is known by the kinds of materials its people use to build the world
they live in, then the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age have given way to
our own Plastic Age. Plastics from much of our packaging and wrapping materials ,

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many of our bottles and containers , textiles, plumbing and building materials,
furniture and flooring, paints , glues and adhesives, electrical insulation, automobile
parts and bodies, television , stereo and computer cabinets, medical equipment,
video and audio tapes, records and compact disks, personal items, including pens,
razors , toothbrushes and hairsprays, and even the plastic trash bags we use to
discard our plastic trash. Except for our food, air and water, almost every ordinary
thing we come in contact with each day contains some kind of plastic somewhere in,
on, or around it, or it comes to us wrapped in plastic. So many of our throwaway
goods are made of plastic that, despite its lightness, the material currently makes up
an estimated 7 % of the total weight of all solid municipal wastes and is expected to
grow to 10 % by 2000. It’s already 2020, and it’s expected to double. It’s everybody’s
knowledge that garbage is number one problem in any parts of the world. What’s
more, plastics are a highly visible part of what we discard, making up roughly a
quarter of the entire volume of our trash.
About half of the plastics produced today go into packaging and into
packaging and into building and construction materials; another 8 % is used in
personal consumer products; the remainder goes into the manufacture of products
such as furniture, parts for cars and other vehicles, and electrical and electronic
equipment.
Durable and fragile, rigid or flexible, sturdy of flimsy, dense or light , strong
or weak, plastic provide us with inexpensive materials of virtually unlimited
properties. With chemical ingenuity we can transform them into almost whatever
shapes we wish with almost whatever properties we desire. And at their root, in the
polymeric molecules that make up these extraordinary substances of our everyday
world, lies in one of the shining achievements of modern chemistry.

STRUCTURE OF PLASTICS

Plastic is the layman’s term for a synthetic polymer. The term plastic , however ,
has a more specific technical meaning. . Plastics are materials that can flow under
certain conditions of heat and pressure. . Each (monomer ) repeat unit goes into the
polymer is called a monomer residue. A large group of synthetic polymers are
carbon-based. This means the monomer units are carbon molecules. Another group
of polymers is silicon – based .
A plastic is a material that can be molded readily into variety of shapes. All of
today’s commercial plastics are polymers, even though some of our most important
polymers - the starch and cellulose of our foods , the proteins of our foods and
bodies , and the silicates of our earth, for example are not at all plastic.
The polymer may be composed of the same or different monomer residues . A
homopolymer is made up of similar monomer molecules. Some examples are
polyethylene or poly (ethene) and polyvinyl chloride or PVC. A copolymer is one that
is made up of two or more different monomer molecules. Some examples Bakelite
plastics ( a copolymer of phenol and formaldehyde ) and poly ( ethene terephthalate) ,
a polyester known as Dacron in the United States and Terylene or Crimplene in the
United Kingdom
In naming a polymer, the name of the monomer residue is enclosed in
parenthesis. The other names are trade names given by the manufacturer.

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 -A – A – A – A – A- A- A-A- A-A – A -A – A- A – A – A
A. Homopolymer , Linear

- A–B–A–B–A–B–A–B–A–B–A–B–A

B. Copolymer , Linear

- A - A – A – A- A – A - A- A - A – A – A – A – A – A- A -
- A – A – A - A- A - A – A – A - A - A – A- A – A - A- A-

C. Homopolymer, Cross-linked

Figure 1. Structures of Polymers

The structure may be linear or cross-linked . Cross -linking occurs when

active groups in the primary chain form secondary bonds like H-bonds and dipole-
dipole attractions. Primary chemical bonds can also form between active groups in
cross-linked structures. Bakelite plastics and poly(ethylene terephthalate) both show
cross-linked structures. Poly (ethe) and poly(vinylchloride ) are both linear polymers.
The nature of the chemical bonds defines the resulting structure and properties of
polymers. These in turn, determine their applications or uses.
PROPERTIES OF SYNTHETIC POLYMERS

There are two kinds of polymers based on origin – natural and synthetic. The
natural polymers come from plants and animals . Synthetic polymers are man-made.
These are usually manufactured from petrochemicals or petroleum products.
Synthetic fibers are stronger then natural fibers. One disadvantage of pina fibers
and other plant fibers is their weakness. Synthetic fibers like nylon and acrylics have
competed with many natural fibers in making fabrics. The synthetics have proven to
be to be more durable. They absorb less water and dry faster. These are properties
that both positive and negative effects.
You must have observed that plastics or synthetic polymers melt first when
heated. Imagine what will happen to you if the clothes you are wearing are made of
synthetic fibers and it catches fire! This must be a traumatic experience.

Polyesters when burned produce soot in the flame. Polyethylene and

polypropylene does not produce soot in the flame. They smell like burnt candle when
burned. Cellophane burns spontaneously when placed on the red hot wire. It also
absorbs water to swell. Besides nitrogen and the halogens, plastic materials may
contain oxygen.

KINDS OF PLASTICS

Why do you think we find plastic materials at home in different sizes and
shapes? The plastic material assumes a certain shape when the pressure and
temperature are changed. There are two kinds of plastic materials based on their
reaction to heat- thermoplastic and thermosetting . A thermoplastic material softens
on heating and hardens back to its original form on cooling. A thermosetting material

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solidifies or sets irreversibly on heating. Molded objects are usually manufactured
from thermosetting plastics.
The large molar masses of polymer molecules impart on the materials unique
physical properties. These properties include toughness, viscoelasticity, and a
tendency to form glasses or semi- crystalline structures. These properties make
plastic products useful as everyday materials for the home and other areas of
modern life.
Polymeric molecules also make up another kind of material, one that returns
to its original shape after it’s stretched or squeezed. Materials of this sort bounced
back when they’re thrown against a wall or dropped on the floor. Christopher
Columbus and his companions found the inhabitants of the newly discovered
Western Hemisphere playing with a natural polymer that possesses this property.
The people of this Hemisphere were fond of bouncing heavy balls made of a plant
gum that Europeans eventually named rubber, when , almost three centuries after
Columbus’s voyage , they found it was useful for rubbing out marks made by lead
pencils. While rubber is a plastic in the sense that we can mold, twist, and compress
it into various shapes, rubber belongs to the class of polymers called elastomers,
substances that stretch easily and return readily to their original shapes. It’s the
resilience of rubber that we value. Rubber itself is an addition polymer of a diene .
We do not find synthetic polymers used alone for their varied applications.
Fillers, antioxidants, plasticizers, and reinforcing agents are added during
manufacture to improve their properties or reduce cost. Filler is a material that
increases the bulk of objects. An antioxidant diverts the attract of oxidizing agent
from the polymer to itself. Reinforcing agents are added usually to increase the
strength of the polymer to itself. Reinforcing agents are added usually to increase the
strength of the manufactured object. A plasticizer makes the object more flexible by
acting as a lubricant between polymer chains. Sometimes biocides are also added to
kill the bacteria that eat the hydrocarbon chains like in poly ( ethene).
M

Figure 2. Natural rubber & gutta - percha by unknown author but licensed by CCBY-SA)

MANNER OF POLYMERIZATION

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 The actual linking of the monomers through covalent bonds occur through
polymerization, a chemical process easily divided into two broad categories:
condensation polymerization and addition polymerization . In addition
polymerization, similar monomer units continuously add to the active sites such as
a double or a triple bond. The product is a homopolymer. The polymerization reaction
is usually initiated by organometallic compounds or organic peroxides. Polyethylene
or poly(ethene) is a product or addition polymerization of thousands of ethene
( ethylene molecules.
Examples : H H

Addition: nH2C = CH2 -- C -C –

H H n

In condensation polymerization , there is a loss of small molecules like HOH,

HCl or NH3 between two usually different molecules. The reacting molecules are
bifunctional or have an active or functional group at each end. This ensures
continuous polymerization into a heteropolymer or copolymer. The condensation
reaction between hexamethylene diamine (1,6- diaminohexane) and adipic acid ( a
dicarboxylic acid ) produces Nylon 66. A water molecule is lost in the process. The
actual manufacturing process is much more complex than depicted by the equations
below.
Condensation: H H O O

H2N – (CH2)6 – NH2 + HOOC –(CH2)4 – COOH --> -N – (CH2)6 – N – C (CH2)4 – C + HOH

hexamethylene diamine adipic acid nylon -66

MECHANISM OF POLYMERIZATION

Addition polymerization reactions are usually catalyzed by peroxides. The

energy is provided by heat or sunlight. Peroxide - catalyzed reactions generally occur
through a free radical mechanism. Free radicals are very reactive chemical species
containing an odd or unpaired electron.
Polymerization reaction occurs in three steps. An example is shown below.
Chemists can control what happen to the polymer in each step by varying the
reactants, the reaction times, and the reaction conditions.

1. Initiation Stage:
The reaction starts with the cleavage of the peroxide, forming free radicals.
The very reactive free radicals attack the active double bond of propene forming an
activated monomer, which is a free radical.
R - O: O – R R–O + O- R ( peroxide radical )

RO + H2C:: CH-CH2 – CH3 RO – CH2 : CH (free radical)

propene CH3 activated monomer

2. Propagation Stage
The activated monomer formed in the initiation phase attaches to the double
bond of another monomer molecule. This reaction is repeated many times involving

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n number of monomer molecules forming the long polymer chain. The length of the
chain formed is dictated by the reaction conditions.
RO – CH2 : CH

CH3 + n [H2C:: CH -CH3 ] RO [ CH2 – CH ]nCH2CH

CH3 CH3

3. Termination Stage
The reaction stops when a growing polymer chain joins with another free
radical. The two groups involved in the chain terminating step can be the original
free radicals, the growing polymer chains, or even one of each.
RO [ CH2 - CH ]nCH2CH + R. ’ RO [ CH2 -CH ]n CH2 CH – R’

CH3 CH3 CH3 CH3

Condensation reactions occur through a different mechanism . The monomers usually

have two reactive sites of functional groups like alcohol, amine, or carboxylic acid groups. The
reactions occur through an ionic mechanism that is dictated by the nature of the functional
groups. Some monomers have more than two functional groups. These allows for branching
between chains and increasing the molar masses of the polymer.

Table 2 presents some familiar examples of different kinds of polymers, the monomers
from which they are formed, properties and uses .

TACTICITY OF POLY(PROPYLENE)

Stereochemistry deals with the study of the spatial distribution of atoms in a

compound and its effects on the properties of compounds . Because of the nature of
covalent bond, different groups in a given molecule can have different orientations in
space.
Table 2. Synthetic Polymers, their structure , and uses

Polymer/Monomer Structure Properties Uses

Poly(ethene)/ H H Waxy, dissolve fats, oils HDPE - bottles & caps
H2C = CH2 ethene - C-C- & grease slowly, for milk, soft drinks,
H H n translucent when pure, liquid soap; pipes &
resistant to moisture & tubings, molded objects
composed of different chemicals, excellent like crates, electrical
chain lengths, tangled, electrical insulating cable jackets
crystalline regions properties LDPE - packaging films
alternate with and sheets for food or
amorphous regions; with garments, tubings,
methyl branch at about squeeze bottles
every 10th unit
Poly(vinyl chloride)/ H H Versatile, can be mixed Toys, raincoats, shower
H2C = CHCl - C-C- with a wide range of curtains, phonograph
Vinyl chloride H Cl n additives; non records, plumbing pipes,
(carcinogenic gas) Linear; do not pack well permeable to alcohol & credit cards, garden
because of large Cl oily products; rigid, hose, rigid clear bottles,
atoms strong, high density, low vinyl sheets, surgeon’s
softening point, gloves, building products
chemically resistant.
Poly(acrylonitrile)/ H H Resistant to Fibers (orlon, acrilan);
H2C = CHCN - C-C- microorganism attack, (copolymer with vinyl
Acrylonile H CN n degraded by sunlight

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 acetate ); copolymers
used for carpets, wigs
(
Phenol Hard or rigid, black, Molded objects like
Formaldehyde good insulator telephones &
(Bakelite)/ household appliances,
insulation for power
plugs, points, and
switches & for electric
jug lids, varnishes,
lacquers
(phenol)

HCHO
Methanal

Poly(ethylene Stiff, crease resistant; Textiles, mylar films

terephthalate)/ very strong, high for cassette tapes,
HO-CH2-CH2-OH -C-O-CH2CH2O]2 electrical resistance, balloons, artificial
Ethylene glycol C-] O orderly arrangement of blood vessels,
+ O molecules replacement skin for
Cross linked (alkyd resins) burn victims, feeding
bottles, adhesives ,
pistol grips, explosion
barriers for TV tubes ,
bowling balls
Terephthalic acid Paint enamels, false
teeth
( Some photos are from unknown authors but licensed by CCBY-SA)

Applied to polymers, tacticity is a special term that

refers to the way the pendant (hanging) groups are
arranged on the polymer backbone . Poly(propene) or
polypropylene exhibits 3-kinds of structures which differ in
the spatial orientations of the branched groups. It is
isotactic when all the methyl groups are on the same side
and syndiotactic when these groups are at alternate
positions.
Figure 2. Three isomers of poly (propylene)
(photo from unknown author but licensed by CCBY -SA)

When the methyl groups are randomly arranged , the structure is called
atactic . The structure can be pre-planned by the selection of the proper catalyst
during polymerization. Figure 2 illustrates the structural formulas of the different
stereoisomers of poly(propene)
Atactic polypropene has little order in the polymer backbone. This makes it
amorphous. The common name for amorphous polypropene is linear low-density
polypropylene (LLDPE). This polymer is clear and used in soda bottles. Atactic
arrangement of branches causes loose packaging of polymer chains. This polymer
is less dense and less tough, but more flexible.
Isotactic and syndiotactic polymers have ordered structures and therefore,
have higher crystallinity in the polymer chain. The long - range order in isotactic

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polypropylene ( also known as HDPE adds mechanical strength and crystallinity.
HDPE is used in laundry detergent bottle. It is not transparent like LLDPE.
The terms for the three orientations come from the Greek taktos, “ ordered”,
which is modified by the prefixes iso- , (“same” ) , syndio - ( “two together” ) , and a-
9’ not” ) .
In 1953 Ziegler and Giulio Natta, Italian -born (1903 ) professor of industrial
chemistry at the Milan Polytechnic , independently prepared the highly ordered
polypropylenes, thereby creating the first stereochemically ordered polymers. For
their pioneering work Zieglar and Natta shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in chemistry.
As we expect from our knowledge of the effects of molecular order on the melting
points of triglycerides and on the hardness of the polyethylenes, the highly ordered
isotactic and syndiotactic polypropylenes are higher melting, more crystalline , and
harder than the atactic.

STRUCTURES AND PROPERTIES OF POLYMERS

The structures and properties of hydrocarbon polymers are linked to each other. The
physical properties of a polymer chain depend on the average chain length , the degree of
branching, and the nature of constituent monomers. Linear polymers like those formed from
aliphatic hydrocarbons are thermoplastic. The highly linear chains with reduced number of
branches can pack closely. They form high density polymers with high melting point .
Increasing chain length or increasing molar mass improves mechanical
properties such as strength , toughness, and chemical resistance. High density
polyethylene or HDPE may have from 10 000 to 100 000 C atoms . Low density
polyethylene of LDPE has shorter , branched chains and may contain about ethylene
units. LDPE is more flexible, extensible and tough. HDPE is more rigid , stronger ,
less extensible , less tough , more opaque, and has higher melting point. When the
molar mass of the most polymer molecules fall withing a narrow region, better
mechanical properties are obtained than when molar mass is spread out over a wide
range.
Increased branching of polymers increases their flexibility and lowers density.
Polymers with hydrocarbon branches are susceptible to oxidation. Cross linking
decreases toughness and makes the polymers more brittle. Cross-linked polymers
are most hard and thermosetting .

SILICATES, POLYMERS OF THE LITHOSPHERE

Not all polymers are organic compounds. Probably the most important and
certainly the most abundant of the inorganic polymers are compounds of silicon and
oxygen . The clays, rocks, and inorganic soils of the earth’s crust are made mostly of
these two elements. On the average , oxygen constitutes about 46 % of the mass of
the planet’s outer layer of land and ocean bed; silicon , about 28 % . Taking into
account the difference in their atomic weights, this corresponds to a ratio of almost
three atoms oxygen for every atom of silicon.
Most of the solid crust consists of polymers with repeating units of silicon
dioxide ( SiO2 )and of ionic aggregates such as SiO3 , SiO4 , Si2O5 , Si4O11, and so
forth. In these, four oxygens surround each tetra covalent silicon in much the same
way as four hydrogens occupy the four corners of a tetrahedral methane molecule.

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but while methane’s hydrogens are monovalent, the oxygen atoms are divalent, so
they either carry a negative ionic charge or bond to a second silicon atom. bonding
of any or all of the oxygens at the corners of the tetrahedral to still other tetrahedral
silicones of the lungs and the cavity of the chest and the abdomen. Since the mid
1970 produces threadlike, sheetlike , and three-dimensional , inorganic, silicate
polymers .
With the other elements of the crust interspersed among them, these inorganic
polymers form much of the substance of the earth’s rocks and minerals. One form of
the mineral asbestos consists of a double strand of the silicate tetrahedral. Asbestos
was once used in the brake linings and cigarette filters and as insulation in houses,
schools, and office buildings. Inhaling asbestos fibers has been shown to produce
mesothelioma , a cancer of the lungs and cavity of the chest and the abdomen .
Since the mid 1970s the mineral has been abandoned as an insulating material in
the construction . Its use in consumer products is now prohibited by law.
Two-dimensional sheets of silicate polymers form micas, clays, and talc, while
quartz has a three-dimensional lattice of silicon dioxide ( SiO2 ) . In the quartz lattice
every oxygen is shared by two different silicon atoms, one at the center of each of two
adjacent tetrahedra that are connected through the oxygen. Each silicon atom owns,
in effect , exactly half of each of the four oxygens bonded to it ( with the other half
assigned to the other silicon atom to the oxygen ) With this arrangement , the
molecular formula of quartz becomes SiO2

Silicones
Inorganic Si-O chains forms the backbone structure ( as seen in Figure 3) of silicones. It is
considered as an inorganic polymer. It is chemically polysilohexanes . An organic group is
bonded to Si. The macromolecule is a mixed inorganic-organic polymer of the type [ R2SiO]2

The R group can be an alkyl group or phenyl ring.

Silicones are typically linear. The side chain ( e.g. -
OH or -Cl ) which is bonded to Si of the backbone
chain can form bridges two or more silicone
chains .the Si-O chain lengths can be varied and
side group can be introduced to form crosslinks Figure 3. Polymer backbone of silicones
between chains. The synthesis of branch or
Photo from unknown author but licensed with
crosslinks silicon resins with varied properties
CCBY-SA
depends, not only on the material used, but also on
the method used of production
Silicones are chemically inert, heat resistant, rubber-like and have tensile strength.
They are also water repellent., thermally stable, and have low toxicity. They are resistant to
oxygen, UV light , and ozone. Some formulations are good electrical insulators; others are
electrically conductive . many These properties make silicones suitable for a wide variety of
applications. These include many industrial applications as well as medical uses. Polymer
chemistry is a dynamic area of research for chemists. The many discoveries in this field have
yielded many industrial patents. The possibilities are there and far from being exhausted
A BRIEF HISTORY OF POLYMERS AND PLASTICS

15
Part 1: The Roman God of Fire

In its elasticity , rubber illustrates the importance of molecular structure as a

source of physical properties. Its elasticity originates in the way its molecules coil
up, which allows them to stretch out when we pull on a piece of rubber and then to
spring back when we please it. Heat a piece of pure, natural rubber, though, and
you’ll find that as it becomes warm it loses much of its resilience. Its usual bounce
becomes sloppy and it turns sticky. That happens because at high temperatures the
intertwined, threadlike polyisoprene molecules slides past each other a bit too readily
when we stretch the rubber and thy don’t pull back to their original positions when
we release it.
Charles Goodyear, born in 1800 in New Haven, Connecticut, solved the problem
of sticky rubber partly by accident. Goodyear was an inventor and the son of an
inventor, but he lacked the talents of a good businessman. He had already spent
time in jail for his debts when he became obsessed with the idea of creating a rubber
that retained its elasticity even when hot.. He tried to perfect it for 10 years with little
success until , one day in 1839, he accidentally dropped a mixture of crude rubber
and sulfur onto a hot stove. When the charred mixture cooled a bit he found that it
was nicely elastic, even though still warm. In 1839 neither Goodyear nor anyone else
knew anything about the molecular structure of rubber. Goodyear knew only that
heating rubber with sulfur worked; he had no idea why. Once again we see the
importance of serendipity in science.
We know now that with heating, the sulfur and the polyisoprene molecules
react to link the polyisoprene molecules to one another. With this crosslinking the
molecular structures became loosely bound to each other in a three dimensional
lattice. The sulfur links keep the long molecules from slipping past their neighbors
at high temperatures and thereby keep the rubber resilient and prevent it from
becoming sticky
Five years later Goodyear received a patent for the process, but financially
success eluded him. Poor and debt-ridden , he tried unsuccessfully to make his
fortune by manufacturing rubber in both England and France. Close to his 55 th
birthday, he was thrown into a Paris jail for debt. He returned to the United States
and died in New York on July 1, 1860, still poor and still in debt. Someone else
named his process vulcanization in honor of the Roman god of fire , Vulcan . Today
vulcanizing forms the bases of a major industry . All natural rubber now used
commercially is vulcanized, with most of it going into the production of auto tires.
The name of Charles Goodyear is preserved in the Goodyear Tire and rubber
Company.
Several synthetic elastomers now
supplement or replace rubber in various
consumer applications , particularly in tire
treads and engine hoses and belts. Today’s
leading synthetic elastomer, styrene-
butadiene rubber, was developed by German
chemists in the early 1930s and further Figure 3. Auto and truck tire
refined by Americans during and after World (photo by unknown author by licensed by
CCBY - SA)

16
War II. It results from the copolymerization of a mixture of 75 % butadiene and 25 %
styrene, and it serves as a good substitute for natural rubber in the manufacture of
various consumer goods, especially the treads of tires.

Neoprene is a homopolymer produced by the polymerization of chloroprene ,

a monomer with a molecular structure resembling isoprene, but with isoprene’s
methyl group replaced by chlorine . Neoprene resembles vulcanized rubber except
that this synthetic substitute is much more resistant to heat and to the action of
hydrocarbon solvents like gasoline and automotive greases and oils. Its properties
are especially valuable in belts and other parts used in and around auto engines., in
the hoses of gasoline pumps, in gaskets and filling material used in the construction
of highways and bridges, and in the rubber stoppers found in chemistry laboratories.
Neoprene was developed for commercial production by Wallace Carothers , the
inventor of nylon.

Part II : Save the Elephants

John Wesley and Hyatt and his brother Isaiah consciously and deliberately
converted a modified natural polymer into the world’s first new, commercially
successful synthetic plastic.
By 1863, three years after Goodyear’s death, the slaughter of the world’s
elephants for their tusks had become a serious matter, as it is still is today. In that
era the disappearance of elephants was threatening to disrupt the world’s ivory
supply. Ivory , a valuable luxury item of the 19th century used for jewelry, ornaments,
piano keys, and various items, was becoming scarce and very expensive. Perhaps to
protect the elephants but certainly to ensure a source of raw materials, the firm of
Phelan and Collander, a New England manufacturer of ivory billiard balls, offered
$10,000 to anyone who could devise a satisfactory substitute for the rapidly
disappearing natural ivory. John Hyatt, a 26 -year-old printer born in Starkey, New
York , took up the challenge . He was helped by a starting discovery made years
earlier by a chemist in Basel, Switzerland
In 1846, a Swiss chemistry professor , Christian Schoenbien, had accidentally
invented guncotton by spilling a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid and sulfuric
acid in the kitchen of his home and then wiping up the mess with his wife’s cotton
apron. He rinsed out the apron thoroughly with water and hung it up to dry near a
hot stove. As it hung drying it disappeared in a sheet of flame.
The smokeless guncotton of Schoenbein’s accident proved far superior to the
very smoky gunpowder used at the time in warfare and it became a popular military
item. More to the point , by inadvertently inducing a reaction between the mixture of
nitric and sulfuric acids and the cellulose of the cotton apron, Schoenbein had
successfully transformed the polymeric cellulose into nitrocellulose , a compound in
which varying numbers of the hydroxy groups ( - OH ) of the polymer are converted
into nitrate groups ( - O - NO2 ) . ( The sulfuric acid serves to catalyze the reaction )
John Hyatt won the $10,000 prize with a combination of camphor, a pungent
substance obtained from camphor tree, and a lightly nitrated form of Schoenbein’s
nitrocellulose. The mixture forms a thermoplastic so similar to ivory that it was
known for some time as artificial ivory - called celluloid now. With the help of his
brother, Isaiah, Hyatt began manufacturing celluloid in 1870 and became more
successful financially than Goodyear. His synthetic balls proved a bit too brittle to

17
be useful, but the plastic did make fine dental plates, photographic film, brush
handles, detachable collars, ping pong balls, and a host of other small products. Its
major defect in consumer products is its tendency to burst into flames. Movie film
was once made of the highly flammable celluloid and often ignited from the heat of
the projector.
Although the Hyatts had produced celluloid, the world’s first successful commercial
plastic, they hadn’t actually constructed a new polymeric chain. The plastic was ,
rather , a combination of camphor and chemically modified, naturally occurring
cellulose. The credit for the world’s first fully synthetic organic polymer goes to Leo
Hendrik Baekeland .

Part III: The First Synthetic Polymer

Leo H. Baekeland , born in Belgium in 1863, the same year that Phelan and
Collander offered its $10,000 reward for an ivory substitute, became active ,
productive , and successful academic and industrial chemist. As a young man he
migrated to the United States and became a citizen; eventually he was elected
president of the American Chemical society , the world’s largest professional
association of chemists. In 1909 Baekeland announced his preparation of the first
fully synthetic polymer, a resin he called Bakelite . In the following year he founded
the Bakelite Corporation to manufacture the material.

Bakelite is a thermosetting plastic rather than a thermoplastic. Bakelite forms

a mixture phenol and formaldehyde. Each formaldehyde molecule bonds to two
different phenol molecules, and each phenol ring bonds to three different
formaldehyde molecules ( with a molecule of water lost for each condition of two
phenols and one formaldehyde). The geometric possibilities available here produce
an intricate , three - dimensional web of resinous polymeric material.
Bakelite is a hard, sturdy material, resistant to heat and electricity and not easily
burned and scorched. The other aldehydes and of other phenols, bearing groups
other than hydrogens here and there on the ring, produces variations on Bakelite
and has created an entire class of phenolic resins . Today the primary uses of the
phenolic resins are as adhesives and fillers in the manufacture of plywood and
fiberwood and in the production of insulating materials. A little more than 45 % of
all thermosetting polymers produced today belong to this class of resin.

Part IV: From the Kitchen Stove to Nylon

Early advances in the development of commercially useful polymers and

plastics were made by a few ingenious ( and lucky ) individuals, sometimes quite by
accident, often with little equipment. The days of major advances in polymer and
plastic chemistry arriving through small accidents on hot kitchen stoves came to an
end in the early years of this century largely because of the growing sophistication of
scientific equipment and techniques, the increasing rigor of research programs
carried out in academic, industrial , and institutional laboratories, and the
development, in the 1920’s , of a comprehensive understanding of the molecular
structure of polymers.

18
 Wallace H. Carothers and his co-workers at Du Pont Corporation’s discovery
the condensation of polymer nylon was among the fruits of highly organized, well-
directed , and strongly supported research programs . In 1928 Carothers (1896 -
1937 ), an Iowa-born chemist, left his post as instructor in organic chemistry at
Harvard University to lead a research group in Du Pont’s Wilmington, Delaware ,
Laboratories. There he began a program of fundamental research into polymers,
studying how they form and what factors affect their properties. Within a few years
he and his co-workers found that by polymerizing a mixture of adipic acid and 1,6-
diaminohexane, they could produce a plastic (nylon ) that can be drawn out into
strong, silky fibers .
Adipic acid is an example of a dicarboxylic acid, one containing two carboxyl
groups. The name adipic comes from the Latin adipem , “ a fat”, and reflects the
observation that adipic acid is one of the substances formed when fats are oxidized
with nitric acid, HNO3.
Carothers and his group produced several other
nylons, each a polynamide . To differentiate among
all newly formed nylons , the researchers coded each
one for the number of carbon atoms in each of their
monomers. The one produced from the six- carbon
adipic acid and the six-carbon nylon 6,6 ( In fact, the carboxyl group
photo by unknown author but
licensed by CCBY-SA

“66 polyamide” was its original name, before the term nylon was coined). Another
nylon, nylon 6, forms as the ring of caprolactam opens with the addition of water and
the resulting amino acid undergoes polymerization.
Nylon’s first practical application to a consumer came in 1938, when the new
polymer was introduced to the public in the form of toothbrush bristles. But it was
the polymer’s use in stockings, first sold to consumers on a trial basis in October
1939, that made it an overwhelming commercial success. Similar to silk in its
properties but far less expensive, nylon became the ideal replacement for the silk of
stockings and other fashionable clothing. With the coming of World War II, fashion
had to make way for the war effort. . The government used most of the nation’s limited
supplies of nylon for making parachutes, ropes, and other military supplies. Since
there wasn’t enough nylon for both military and civilian uses, nylon stockings, which
had become popular and were in high demand, were rationed until the end of the
war. During the war and shortly afterward, nylon stockings became a valuable item
of barter in Europe and achieved the status of an informal currency.. Not until the
1950s was there sufficient production capacity to fill the popular demand for
“nylons,” as the stockings came to be known, and to provide enough of the plastic
for other consumer and commercial uses.
Nylon’s name reflects, in a strange and devious way, one of the most appealing
characteristics of the stockings made from the polymer. : their resistance to snagging
and running. An early name, suggested as a more popular replacement for the
technical ’66 polyamide,” was norun, referring to the appeal of the stockings. That
term was judged unacceptable by those at Du Pont who were responsible for giving
the polymer a trade name. After spelling it backward as nuron, which was still
unsatisfactory, they finally agreed to nylon .

19
PET, a Condensation Polymer

The modern , systematic search for commercially useful polymers has led to
the development of several valuable condensation and addition polymers. The
commercial leader among condensation polymers is poly (ethylene terephthalate ),
a polyester also known as PET .
In 1941 the British industrial chemist John Rex Whinfield succeeded in
producing a polyester, poly ( ethylene terephthalate), by polymerizing a mixture of
ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid . With this sort of combining power the two
compounds form a copolymer whose monomeric units are linked to each other by
ester groups.
Chemically the process resembles the condensation of hexamethylenediamine
and adipic acid to form the polyamide chain of nylon.
Drawing out the poly(ethylene terephthalate) into a filament produces the
world’s leading synthetic polymeric fiber, known as Dacron in the United States,
Terylene in Great Britain , and usually simply referred to as “ polyester” when it’s
woven into a fabric. PET also forms an extremely thin and extremely tough film, Mylar
used as the plastic backing for audio and video tapes and computer diskettes, as
well as wrapping material for frozen foods and bags for boil-in foods. In Western
Europe PET has grown since the early 1980s into the dominant commercial plastic
for packaging consumer products.

Figure 4. poly(ethylene terephthalate) (photo by unknown author but licensed by CCBY-SA)

Rayon is a generic term for a group of fibers that are all derived from cellulose ,
largely by replacing one or more of the hydrogens of the - OH groups on the glucose
rings with other chemical groups. Schoenbein’s guncotton is one form of rayon.

Polystyrene, an Addition Polymer

Addition polymers make up about 75 % , by weight , of all plastics produced in

the US. They are among our most important commercial plastics.

Polyolefins are polymers of olefins, which is another and much older for the
unsaturated hydrocarbons we now know as the alkenes. “Olefin” is a corruption of a
name given to ethylene by several Dutch chemists in 1795 to reflect its character as
an “oil forming” gas in its reaction with chlorine. Since then the term has been
extended to include the entire category of hydrocarbons that, like ethylene, bear a

20
single carbon-carbon double bond. “ Olefin” is often used as a synonym for “ alkene” .
Polymerizing an olefin produces a polyolefin. Polymerizing ethylene, the simplest of
all the alkenes, produces polyethylene, a polyolefin . Replacing one or more of
ethylene’s hydrogens by other substituents gives monomers useful for preparing
polymers closely related to the olefins and sharing many of their important
properties.

Replacing one of the ethylene hydrogens by a phenyl group, for example,

produces styrene , which polymerizes to the thermoplastic polystyrene ( Figure 5).

Figure 5. Styrene (left) and polystyrene (right) ( photo from unknown author but licensed by CCBY -SA )

The various techniques available for converting the raw polystyrene polymer into a
finished product provide a wide range of useful properties for the resulting plastic.
Inexpensive, clear , rigid drinking glasses are made of polystyrene. In a variation
known as high-impact polystyrene, the plastic is used to make sturdy furniture,
inexpensive tableware, and stereo, television , and computer cabinets. Another form
of polystyrene , a solid but lightweight polystyrene foam, is a good thermal insulator
and shock absorber, useful for making picnic coolers, egg cartoons, clamshell
containers for fast foods, disposable cups for keeping drinks hot or cold, and small
polystyrene nuggets used as packaging material . These foams, some of which are
sold under the name Styrofoam, are made by using a gas to generate a foam of liquid
polystyrene and allowing the frothy mass to cool and solidify. Chlorofluorocarbons
were once used to generate the froth, but these have been replaced by other gases,
including low-boiling alkanes. Today , over half of all the polystyrene produced goes
into inexpensive consumer products.

Vinyl and Its Chemical Cousins

In the field of consumer products the word vinyl has come to mean a tough ,
flexible, and often smooth, shiny plastic that serves as an expensive substitute for
leather. We often find vinyl purses, wallets, and jackets and other vinyl goods for sale
at the lower-priced counters of stores.
To the chemist, though vinyl represents a hydrocarbon group ( CH 2 = CH - )
that can be formed by the removal of a hydrogen atom from ethylene, just as a methyl
group ( CH3 - ) and an ethyl group ( CH3 - CH2 - ) can be produced by the removal of
a hydrogen atom from methane ( CH4 ) and ethane ( CH3 - CH3 ), respectively.
Moreover , just as CH3 - Cl and CH3 - CH2 - Cl represent methyl and ethyl chloride,
CH2 =CH - Cl is vinyl chloride
The terms poly(vinyl chloride), polyvinylchloride, and PVC all serve very nicely
as names for the thermoplastic formed by the addition polymerization of vinyl
chloride. The polymer forms a tough plastic , well suited to pipes, plumbing, electrical
conduit, flooring, and both indoor and outdoor wall coverings. Among personal
products, it’s widely used in toys, garden hoses, and inexpensive wallets, purses ,

21
and keyholders. Over half of all PVC production currently goes into the construction
industry , with most of it used in piping, tubing, and similar extruded materials.

Figure 6. vinyl chloride ( left) and polyvinyl chloride ( right )

Thin sheets of polyvinyl chloride are relatively stiff and crack easily, it’s
necessary to add a plasticizer to give them the same sort of flexibility we expect from
leather . Plasticizers are liquids that mix readily with a plastic and soften it. With
time a plasticizer can migrate out of the plastic or otherwise deteriorate, allowing
aged polyvinyl to stiffen and crack.

Other useful thermoplastics come from still other monomers closely related to
ethylene, including vinyl acetate, acrylonitrile, vinylidene chloride,
tetrafluoroethylene , methyl methacrylate and of course , styrene.
Polymerization of vinyl acetate produces polyvinyl acetate , a plastic with a
wide range of properties and an equally wide range of applications. As a
thermoplastic with a low softening temperature it’s useful in coatings and adhesives.
A sandwich of two panes of glass boded to a central sheet of the material forms a
shatterproof or safety glass . while the glass can break, it won’t shatter into
dangerous slivers. Safety glass of this kind is used in car windows.
Mixed with a sweetener, some flavoring, and other ingredients, polyvinyl
acetate replaces the chewy chicle of chewing gum. ( Chicle itself is a rubber-like
polymer obtained from the sap of the sapodilla tree). Partially polymerized vinyl
acetate serves as a binder in water-based house paints. As the water evaporates, the
low molecular - polymer present in the paint polymerizes further, forming a tough
sheet that binds the pigment to the coated surface.
Polyacrylonitrile , a thermoplastic that’s drawn out into fine threads and
woven into synthetic fabrics such as Orlon, Acrilan, and /creslan, comes from the
polymerization of acronylnitrile ( CH2 = CH - CN ) .
Putting two chlorines on the single carbon of ethylene converts it into
vinylidene chloride ( CH2 = CCl2 ) , the major monomer of Saran. Sheets of this
polymer form a nearly impregnable barrier to food odors, which makes it useful for
wrapping foods that are to be stored near each other in a refrigerator.
Teflon results from the polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene ( CF 2 = CF2 ), a
monomer obtained by replacing all of ethylene’s hydrogens with fluorines. Teflon’s
great chemical stability , its resistance to heat, its mechanical toughness, and its
nearly friction-fee surface make it useful as a coating for bearings, valve seats,
gaskets, and other parts of machinery that take heavy wear. Since things don’t easily
stick to it, Teflon also makes a fine coating for cooking utensils such as pots and
pans. Teflon was first prepared at DuPont in 1938; commercial production began 10
years later.
In molecular structure methyl methacrylate is a bit further removed from
ethylene. Its polymer forms a very hard , clear colorless plastic that appears in
consumer products as Lucite and Plexiglas. It’s used in making glasses , camera

22
lenses , and other , and other optical equipment, in costume jewelry. And as windows
in aircraft.

Polyethylene , the Plastic That Won the War and Gave Us the Hula-Hoop

Polyethylene is clearly the major polymer of the U.S. plastics industry. In its
principal commercial forms ( high-density polyethylene and low-density
polyethylene ) also illustrates very nicely the connection between the structure of a
polymeric molecule and the properties of the plastic it forms . The physical properties
of a piece of bulk plastic depend partly on the molecular structure of the monomer
that forms it and partly on the average length of its polymeric chains. The way
polymeric chains organize themselves as they constitute the bulk of the material.
Polyethylene itself was first prepared in 1934 in the laboratories of Imperial
Chemical Industries , in Great Britain it went into commercial production there five
years later, as World War II was about to begin. The first practical use of the plastic
was an insulation on the electrical wiring of military radar sets. When we consider
the critical importance of aircraft radar to the survival of Britain in the early years of
the war, we could easily designate polyethylene as the plastic that won the war.
The techniques used for those early polymerization produced what we now
know as low-density polyethylene (LDPE) . As the chains of LDPE form, they branch
sporadically into short offshoots from the main line of the polymer. These short
branches keep the major strands of the polymer from falling into anything resembling
a coherent, well organized pattern. Instead they form a tangled, randomly oriented
network of strands, somewhat like a large ball of fuzz. The result is a low-density ,
soft, waxy , flexible, relatively low melting plastic that accounts for about 55 % of all
the polyethylene produced in the U.S. More of this LDPE goes into producing trash
bags than into any other single product. Industrial and commercial packaging, food
wrappers, and plastic shopping bags are close behind. As in World War II, the coating
of electrical wires and cables remain a major use.
Polymerized by a different method, the polyethylene chains can grow on and
on without branching , thereby generating high-density polyethylene (HDPE) . this
form of the plastic was first produced in Germany in the early 1950s by Karl Ziegler,
a German chemist born near the end of 1898. Ziegler prepared HDPE by carrying
out the polymerizations in the presence of certain highly specialized organometallic
catalysts , which consist of combinations of organic molecules and metal atoms,
joined to each other by covalent bonds.
These catalysts control the way the monomers link to each other as they polymerize.
In HDPE the long molecular chains aren’t fixed into a tangled web as they are
in the LDPE, so they can align themselves into localized areas of tightly packed
strands, mimicking here and there the orderly structure of crystals such as sodium
chloride and sucrose . With many regions of close packing and a high degree of
crystallinity , HDPE is a denser , harder, higher melting , and more rigid polymer
than LDPE .
Of approximately 5 million tons of HDPE produced in the U.S. in 1993, most
went into the manufacture of bottles and other containers designed to hold a variety
of liquids, including noncarbonated drinks, bleach, antifreeze, and engine oil. It’s
also used in fabricating shipping drums and automobile gasoline tanks. Historically,
HDPE ‘s introduction into consumer products was as the Hula-Hoop, a large plastic
hoop placed on the waist and twirled with hula like motions. The craze swept the

23
U.S. in the late 1950s; its memory survives today largely in the collections of national
trivia.

THE PROBLEM WITH PLASTIC

Unlike metal, discarded plastic boxes and bottles don’t corrode and decay.
Unlike paper and cloth, ordinary plastic bags and wrappings aren’t degraded by the
weather or by the action of the microorganisms of the soil. Plastics, as a rule, simply
aren’t biodegradable . That is, the microorganisms that inhabit the soil can’t degrade
plastics to the simpler substances that form our natural environment.
Plastic litter lies by the side of the road and in our parks and beaches, virtually
unchanged by weather or microorganisms ,until it’s gathered up for proper disposal.
( An estimated 60 % of all the debris collected from our beaches consists of plastics
of one sort or another. ) Even with proper disposal , though , plastic waste presents
a growing societal problem as it accumulates , with other trash, in expensive landfills.
These areas , where urban trash of all sorts is dumped and mixed into the land itself,
are quickly filing to capacity and closing. About 80 % of all our plastic wastes end
up in landfills.
Incineration , an alternative approach used with about 10 % of our plastic trash,
is not only expensive but potentially hazardous as well. Some plastics, including
Teflon, poly (vinyl chloride) and poly (vinylidene chloride ) , produce irritating or toxic
gas when burn. Added to this is the impact of incineration on the greenhouse effect.
Science and technology offer some hope for solving the problem through two
possible routes: recycling plastics so that they don’t accumulate in the environment
as rash, and decomposing the plastics that do become environmental trash.
Recycling waste plastics into new products, much as paper, glass , and metal wastes
are recovered and recast into new and useful items, would certainly seem to be
promising approach. Yet, as we’ve seen, plastics come in a variety of molecular
structures, with a variety of properties. Each synthetic plastic possesses its own
particular characteristics that suit it to a set of specific applications. For effective
recycling, the various plastics of our wastes would have to be sorted into a variety of
individual piles, an expensive process, with each pile representing a separate
category of properties. Tossing them all together, into a single batch , lowers the cost
of the entire operation but produces a low-grade product known informally as
“ plastic lumber”, a satisfactory substitute for wood in some of its rougher uses but
hardly suitable for more specialized applications. In all, while about 30 % of our
waste aluminum and about 20 % of our waste paper are recycled into new products,
only about 1 % of our plastic wastes is currently reused.
One reason for the low level of recycling plastics is the inherent difficulty and cost of
separating different kinds of plastic from each other so that each can be reused
effectively. Another problem is that plastic products just don’t lend themselves to
collection for recycling. The plastic liners of baby diapers probably offers the best
example of this sort of problem.
In another approach plastics can be removed from the environment by
chemically induced degradation. Impregnating the plastic with a substance that
promotes its decomposition without significantly affecting its properties can cause it
to decay much more like paper or cloth. Incorporating a readily biodegradable form
of starch, cellulose, or protein , for example, attracts soil microorganisms into the
discarded plastic. As the microorganisms feed on these nutrients they also clip the

24
long molecular chains of the polymers into shorter segments, causing the plastic to
decompose. Alternatively , chemical activators can be added to the plastic so that
continued exposure to sunlight leads to degradation.
Either one of these treatments leaves the plastic suitable only for decomposition
rather than for recycling and, therefore , does nothing to slow the introduction of
plastics, or their degradation products, into the environment. What’s more, the
hazards of all the possible decomposition products produced by a large variety of
plastic wastes are still uncertain and could pose a greater long-term threat to the
environment than do the intact plastics themselves. Once again, the question of the
safe disposal of long-lived plastics depends on which risks we as society are willing
to accept.

What I Have Learned

A. Complete the blanks to complete the sentences or statements below. Write your
answer on a separate sheet of paper.
A (1) _____ is a material capable of being shaped into virtually any form. A (2)
_____ is a macromolecule consisting of repeating smaller units or monomer. Each
repeat unit that goes into the polymer is called (3) _____.

A (4) _____ is made up of similar monomer molecules while (5) _____ is one that
is made of two or more different monomer molecules . (6) _____ polymers come from
plants and animals whereas (7) _____ polymers are man-made. (8) _____ material
softens on heating and hardens back to its original form on cooling while (9) _____
material solidifies or sets irreversibly on heating. (10) _____ is a material that
increases the bulk of objects. (11) _____ agents are added usually to increase the
strength of the manufactured object while (12) _____ diverts the attack of oxidizing
agent from the polymer to itself whereas (13) _____ makes the object more flexible by
acting as lubricant between polymer chains. (14) _____ are added to kill the bacteria
that eat the hydrocarbon chains. Production of polymers can either be (15)
_____polymerization and (16) ____ polymerization. (17 ) _____ refers to the way
pendant (hanging) groups are arranged on the polymer backbone. Molecular
structures of polymers could either (18) _____ , polymers consisting of chains in
which each link is identical with every other link and (19 ) _____. , polymers consisting
of chains composed of 2 or more different kinds of links. (20) _____ is a substance
that stretches easily & returns readily to its original shape.

B. List down 5 polymers / plastics you’re using at home . How are you going to
dispose them when they are of no longer in use?

C. Give the contributions of the following scientists to the development / discovery

of polymers.
1. Charles Goodyear 5. Wallace H. Carothers
2. John and Isaiah Hyatt 6. John Rex Whinfield
3. Christian Schoenbein 7. Karl Ziegler

25
 4. Leo H. Baekeland 8. Giulio Natta

What I Can Do
1 (a). Design an experiment wherein you will be able to determine the density of
a polymer, given the following materials:
*plastic milk bottle *isopropyl alcohol
*small portion of a trash bag *water
(b). Determine the application of the expected result of your experiment.
2. How can you help our planet earth on the problem of environmental trash?

Assessment

Multiple Choice. Write the chosen letter of your answer on a separate sheet of
paper.
1. Repeating units that make up polymers are _____ .
A. ethylene B. monomers C. monotremes D. polymolecules
2. Identify the properties of synthetic polymers.
A. They are durable. C. They are cheap to manufacturers.
B. They are lightweight D. All the answers are correct.
3. One of the following is NOT an example of a synthetic polymer.
A. DNA B. Kevlar C. nylon D. PVC
4. Polymers that can be heated easily to form other objects are known as _____.
A. foam B. former plastics C. malleables D. thermoplastics
5. Polymer used in making non-stick kitchenware.
A. bakelite B. nylon C. polystyrene D. teflon
6. Polymers used in bullet proof are _____.
A. bakelite B. lexan C. melamine D. vinyl rubber
7. For pipe insulation, polymers used are _____ .
A. polythene. B. PVC C. Teflon D. none of these
8. Soda bottles are made up of _____ .
A. polyester C. polystyrene butadiene
B. polyethylene D. terephthalate
9. Approximately how many carbon atoms might be linked together in a polymer
molecule?
A. five B. fifty C. one hundred D. ten thousand
10. What name is given to the small molecules that can be joined together to form a
polymer?
A. monomer B. monocle C. monoculture D. monocycle
11. What monomer would be used to make the polymer poly (propene) ?
A. ethene B. ethyne C. propane D. propene
12. What would be the name of the polymer made from many phenylethene
monomers joined together ?
A. poly(chloroethene) C. poly (tetrafluoroethene)
B. poly(phenylethene) D. poly(vinylchloride)
13. Give the typical use for polythene.

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 A. clothing C. plastic bags
B. insulating wires D. non-stick surfaces on frying pans
14.Plastic commonly used for window frames, gutters and drain pipes.
A. poly(chloroethene), also called PVC
B. poly (ester), (term for fabric or textile)
C. poly(propene) , also called polypropene
D. poly(phenylethene), also called polystyrene

15.The term biodegradable means _____.

A. It can be kept forever.
B. It can be made from plants.
C. It can be dissolved into water.
D. It will rot away due to the action of living things

References:
Bureau of Secondary Education, Department of Education . Project EASE -Chemistry
Modules . Pasig City Metro Manila.
The Commission on Higher Education in collaboration with the Philippine Normal University.
Teaching guide for Senior High School . General Chemistry 1
Department of Education . Science and Technology III Chemistry. Quezon City, Philippines:
Vibal Publishing House, Inc. 2009
Hagad, Hilda Ropelos. Chemistry. Quezon City, Philippines: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.
2003
Magno , Marcelita Coronel. Basic Chemistry for Senior High School. Mandaluyong City,
Philippines: Anvil Publishing , Inc.
Mapa, Amelia and Trinidad Fidelino. Science and Technology III -Chemistry.
Metro Manila: SD Publications, Inc.1999
Redmore, Fred H. Fundamentals of Chemistry. Quezon City, Philippines: Reliable Publishing
House

study.com
Photos used in this module are by unknown authors but licensed by CCBY-SA

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What’s In
1. Stone age 2. Bronze Age 3. Iron Age 4. Plastic Age
What’s New:
Polymer, plastics, thermosets, thermoplastics…
Answer Key
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Department of Education - Bureau of Learning Resources (DepEd -BLR)

Ground Floor, Bonifacio Bldg., DepEd Complex

Meralco Avenue, Pasig City, Philippines 1600

Telefax: (632) 8634 - 1072 ; 8634 -1054 ; 8631 -4985

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