Contents
What is polymer and its uses?
Polymers, a large class of materials, consist of many small molecules named monomers that are linked together to form long chains and are used in a lot of products and goods that we use in daily life.
What are some useful polymers?
Shikha Goyal
| S. No. | Polymer | Use |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Polythene | Packaging, material, carry bags, bottles. |
| 2. | Teflon | Nonstick Kitchen ware |
| 3. | Polypropene | Bottles, Crates |
| 4. | Melamine | Crockery |
What are two uses of Polyethene?
Principal uses are in packaging film, trash and grocery bags, agricultural mulch, wire and cable insulation, squeeze bottles, toys, and housewares. The plastic recycling code of LDPE is #4. The branched form of polyethylene, known as low-density polyethylene (LDPE).
What are the advantages of polymers?
Polymers are more resistant to chemicals than their metal counterparts. Polymer parts do not require post-treatment finishing efforts, unlike metal. Polymer and composite materials are up to ten times lighter than typical metals. Polymers are naturally radar absorbent as well as thermally and electrically insulating.
What are the 3 main types of polymers?
There are 3 principal classes of polymers – thermoplastics, thermosets, and elastomers. Differentiation between these classes is best defined by their behaviour under applied heat. Thermoplastic polymers can be either amorphous or crystalline. They behave in a relatively ductile manner but often have low strength.
What are 2 types of polymer?
Polymers fall into two categories:
- thermosetting plastic or thermoset.
- thermoforming plastic or thermoplastic.
What are the advantage and disadvantage of polymers?
Polymers have a low density, they can be used in electrical insulation and they have low thermal conductivity, but they also swell with water, require low temperature and have a sensitivity to UV light. Polymers are easy to produce and cost effective, but many are flammable and have a certain toxicity.
What kind of products can polymers be used for?
Polymers can also make possible products that do not easily come from the natural world, such as clean clear sheets and flexible films. Polypropene has a broad range of usage in industries such as stationery, textiles, packaging, plastics, aircraft, construction, rope, toys, etc.
Why are synthetic polymers used in everyday life?
But on the other side, there also arises environmental issues by the use of these synthetic polymers such as the bio plastics and those made from petroleum as they are said to be non-biodegradable. There are various synthetic polymers developed so far. Let us study in brief about few of the synthetic polymers used in everyday life-
What’s the difference between a copolymer and homopolymer?
Polymer nomenclature is generally based upon the type of monomer residues comprising the polymer. A polymer which contains only a single type of repeat unit is known as a homopolymer, while a polymer containing two or more types of repeat units is known as a copolymer. A terpolymer is a copolymer which contains three types of repeat units.
How are polymers classified according to their properties?
Polymers cannot be classified under one category because of their complex structures, different behaviours and vast applications. We can, therefore, classify polymers based on the following considerations. There are three types of classification under this category, namely, Natural, Synthetic, and Semi-synthetic Polymers.