Constitution of polymers
Constitution states what atoms the polymer is made from and how they are arranged in relation to one another. This makes up a repeating unit, which simply describes each polymer's lowest common denominator, e.g. for poly(vinyl chloride), PVC, -[CH2-CHCl]n- or Polypropylene shown in Figure 2.
The constitution also includes information about the polymer’s molar mass and molar mass distribution. It also states if it is a homopolymer, consisting solely from one repeating unit or if it is a copolymer with two or more repeating units. Whether the polymer is linear, branched or cross-linked is also part of its constitution.
Figure 2. Repeating unit of Polypropylene.
-
Project
Contact
This resource was developed as part of an Erasmus+ project, funded with support from the European Commission under grant agreement 2016-1-SE01-KA203-22064.
The project was a collaboration between:
- The University of Borås, Sweden
- The University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland
- The University of Alcalá, Spain
- Digital Connections, Scotland
This resource has been released under Creative Commons license CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Disclaimer
If you would like more information on this resource please contact:
- Academic content – The University of Boras (www.hb.se)
- Technical resource development – The University of the Highlands and Islands Educational Development Unit - EDU (edu@uhi.ac.uk)
Except where otherwise noted, this website is licensed under Creative Commons license CC-BY-SA 4.0. All images used under permission remain the copyright of the license holder.
Download a copy of this resource in PDF format.
You can also print individual pages by printing directly from the browser.
-
