Dental

material

Polymer
Supervisor:Dr.Zahraa Saad
By:Hawraa Arif kadhoom
Group (A)
Definition

A polymer (/ˈpɒlɪmər/;[4][5] Greek poly-, "many" + mer, "part") is

a substance or material consisting of very large molecules, or macromolecules,
composed of many repeating subunits.[6] Due to their broad spectrum of
properties,[7] both synthetic and natural polymers play essential and ubiquitous roles
in everyday life.[8] Polymers range from familiar synthetic plastics such
as polystyrene to natural biopolymers such as DNA and proteins that are fundamental
to biological structure and function. Polymers, both natural and synthetic, are created
via polymerization of many small molecules, known as monomers. Their consequently
large molecular mass, relative to small molecule compounds, produces
unique physical properties including toughness, high elasticity, viscoelasticity, and a
tendency to form amorphous and semi crystalline structures rather than crystals.

A monomer is a molecule that forms the basic unit for polymers, which are the
building blocks of proteins. Monomers bind to other monomers to form repeating
chain molecules through a process known as polymerization. Monomers may be
either natural or synthetic in origin.

A copolymer is a polymer derived from more than one species of monomer. The
polymerization of monomers into copolymers is
called copolymerization. Copolymers obtained by copolymerization of two
monomer species are sometimes called biopolymers.
Terpolymer : a polymer (such as a complex resin) that results from copolymerization of
three discrete monomers

Molecular weight of polymers:

Dominick Rosa to, Donald Rosa to, in Plastics Engineered Product Design, 2003
Molecular Weight Distributions
MWD is basically the amounts of component polymers that make up a polymer (Fig. 1.6). Component
polymers, in contrast, are a convenient term that recognizes the fact that all polymeric materials comprise a

mixture of different polymers of differing molecular weights. The ratio of the weight average molecular weight
to the number average molecular weight gives an indication of the MWD.

Uses of polymers
 Polymerization

IUPAC definition

Polymerization: The process of converting a monomer or a mixture of monomers into

a polymer.[1]

In chemical compounds, polymerization can occur via a variety of reaction

mechanisms that vary in complexity due to the functional groups present in the
reactants[4] and their inherent steric effects. In more straightforward
polymerizations, alkenes form polymers through relatively simple radical reactions; in
contrast, reactions involving substitution at a carbonyl group require more complex
synthesis due to the way in which reactants polymerize.[4] Alkanes can also be
polymerized, but only with the help of strong acids.[5]

An example of alkene polymerization, in which each styrene monomer's double bond

reforms as a single bond plus a bond to another styrene monomer. The product
is polystyrene.

In polymer chemistry, polymerization (American English), or polymerisation (British

English), is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to
form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks.[2][3][4] There are many forms of
polymerization and different systems exist to categorize them.

References
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymer

https://www.thoughtco.com/invention-of-polystyrene-and-styrofoam-1992332

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copolymer

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terpolymer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztr7b82/revision/2

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymerization