POLYMERS

Polymers - from the Greek "many parts"
Macromolecules - contain 100's or 1000's of atoms
Monomer - building block of polymers
Homopolymer - made from a single monomer substance         A - A - A - A - A - A - A - A
Copolymer - made from 2 or more different monomers           A - B - A - B - A - B - A - B
Elastomers - are elastic and stretch easily and spring back to their original form
Fibers - polmers with high tensile strength that do not readily deform or break when stretched
Plastics - polymers that can be molded or made into sheets or other shapes
Addition polymers - are formed from alkene monomers which undergo repeated addition reactions with each other.
Condensation polymers - are formed when monomers join together with the loss of a small molecule, typically water.

Natural Addition Polymer
Rubber
Synthetic Addition Polymers polyethylene
Saran
styrofoam
synthetic rubber
Natural Condensation Polymers cotton
DNA
leather
starch
Synthetic Condensation Polymers Dacron
spandex
Plexiglas
nylon

Recycling Codes for Plastics
    1   PETE polytheylene
terephthlate		 pete
  2   HDPEhigh density
polyethylene		pe
  3  
V
vinyl
pvc
  4   LDPElow density
polyethylene		pe
  5  
PP
 polypropylenepp
  6  
PS
 polystyrenesty
  7   Other

Polymer World Wide Web Sites
The Macrogalleria http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/index.html
Polymers Are Everywhere http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/floor1.html
Natural Polymers http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/natupoly.html
Nylon http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/nylon.html
Carbon Fibers http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/carfib.html
How They Work http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/floor3.html
The Cross-linking Page http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/xlink.html
Makin' Polymers http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/floor4.html
Ziegler-Natta Vinyl Polymerization http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/ziegler.html
Syndiotactic Ziegler-Natta Polymerization http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/movies/zns.html
Metallocene Catalysis Polymerization http://www.psrc.usm.edu/macrog/mcene.html
POLYED Welcome Page http://chemdept.uwsp.edu/polyed/index.htm
Ziegler Research Group Home Page http://www.chem.ucalgary.ca/groups/ziegler/index.html
Metallocene Olefin Polymerization Catalysis http://www.chem.ucalgary.ca/groups/ziegler/met_intro.html
The Why Files http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu
Low-Temperature Metallocene Catalysts http://whyfiles.news.wisc.edu/shorties/catalyst.html
Environsense http://es.epa.gov/
Chemcylopedia 99 http://pubs.acs.org/chemcy99/
Dupont's Teflon page http://www.dupont.com/teflon/
Applications http://plc.cwru.edu/tutorial/enhanced/files/polymers/apps/apps.htm