Construction Materials

(2CL303)

Polymers

By

Deep Chaudhary (21BCL093)

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NIRMA UNIVERSITY
AHMEDABAD – 382481

October 2022

 INDEX

Sr.
Description Page No.

No
1 De nition II

2 Meaning II

3 Polymerisation III

4 Structure IV

5 Properties VI

29

I



fi

 Definition: A polymer is a substance or material consisting of very

large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating
subunits.

Fig. (I)

Meaning: The continuously linked backbone of a polymer used for the preparation of plastics
consists mainly of carbon atoms.

II

 Polymerisation
Polymerisation is the process of combining many small molecules known as monomers into a
covalently bonded chain or network. During the polymerisation process, some chemical groups may
be lost from each monomer. This happens in the polymerisation of PET polyester. The monomers
are terephthalic acid (HOOC—C6H4—COOH) and ethylene glycol (HO—CH2—CH2—OH) but the
repeating unit is —OC—C6H4—COO—CH2—CH2—O—, which corresponds to the combination
of the two monomers with the loss of two water molecules. The distinct piece of each monomer that
is incorporated into the polymer is known as a repeat unit or monomer residue.

Fig.(II)

III



 Structure

The structure of a polymeric material can be described at different length scales

Monomers and repeat units

The identity of the repeat units comprising a polymer is its first and most important attribute.
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 homopolymers,
while a polymer containing two or more types of repeat units is known as a copolymer.

Homopolymer

IV

 Monomer arrangement in copolymers
Copolymers are classified either as statistical copolymers, alternating copolymers, block
copolymers, graft copolymers or gradient copolymers. In the schematic figure below, Ⓐ and Ⓑ

symbolise the two repeat units.

random copolymer gradient copolymer

graft copolymer
alternating copolymer block copolymer

• Alternating copolymers possess two regularly alternating monomer residues: {{not a

typo[AB]n}}. An example is the equimolar copolymer of styrene and maleic anhydride
formed by free-radical chain-growth polymerisation. A step-growth copolymer such as Nylon
66 can also be considered a strictly alternating copolymer of diamine and dicid residues, but
is often described as a homopolymers with the dimeric residue of one amine and one acid as
a repeat unit.
• Periodic copolymers have more than two species of monomer units in a regular sequence.[44]
• Statistical copolymers have monomer residues arranged according to a statistical rule. A
statistical copolymer in which the probability of finding a particular type of monomer residue
at a particular point in the chain is independent of the types of surrounding monomer residue
may be referred to as a truly random copolymer. For example, the chain-growth copolymer
of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate is random.
• Block copolymers have long sequences of different monomer units. Polymers with two or
three blocks of two distinct chemical species are called diblock copolymers and triblock
copolymers, respectively. Polymers with three blocks, each of a different chemical species
are termed triblock terpolymers.
• Graft or grafted copolymers contain side chains or branches whose repeat units have a
different composition or configuration than the main chain. The branches are added on to a
preformed main chain macromolecule.
V

 Properties

Polymer properties depend of their structure and they are divided into classes according to their
physical bases. Many physical and chemical properties describe how a polymer behaves as a
continuous macroscopic material. They are classified as bulk properties, or intensive properties
according to thermodynamics.
Mechanical properties
A polyethylene sample that has necked under tension.
The bulk properties of a polymer are those most often of end-use interest. These are the properties
that dictate how the polymer actually behaves on a macroscopic scale.
Tensile strength
The tensile strength of a material quantifies how much elongating stress the material will endure
before failure. This is very important in applications that rely upon a polymer's physical strength or
durability. For example, a rubber band with a higher tensile strength will hold a greater weight
before snapping. In general, tensile strength increases with polymer chain length and crosslinking of
polymer chains.
Young's modulus of elasticity
Young's modulus quantifies the elasticity of the polymer. It is defined, for small strains, as the ratio
of rate of change of stress to strain. Like tensile strength, this is highly relevant in polymer
applications involving the physical properties of polymers, such as rubber bands. The modulus is
strongly dependent on temperature. Viscoelasticity describes a complex time-dependent elastic
response, which will exhibit hysteresis in the stress-strain curve when the load is removed. Dynamic
mechanical analysis or DMA measures this complex modulus by oscillating the load and measuring
the resulting strain as a function of time.
Transport properties
Transport properties such as diffusivity describe how rapidly molecules move through the polymer
matrix. These are very important in many applications of polymers for films and membranes.
The movement of individual macromolecules occurs by a process called reptation in which each
chain molecule is constrained by entanglements with neighbouring chains to move within a virtual
tube. The theory of repetition can explain polymer molecule dynamics and viscoelasticity.

VI

 Applications

• Clothing, sportswear and accessories: polyester and PVC clothing, spandex, sport shoes,
wetsuits, footballs and billiard balls, skis and snowboards, rackets, parachutes, sails, tents
and shelters.
• Electronic and photonics technologies: organic field effect transistors (OFET), light emitting
diodes (OLED) and solar cells, television components, compact discs (CD), photoresists,
holography.
• Packaging and containers: films, bottles, food packaging, barrels.
• Insulation: electrical and thermal insulation, spray foams.
• Construction and structural applications: garden furniture, PVC windows, flooring, sealing,
pipes.
• Paints, glues and lubricants: varnish, adhesives, dispersants, anti-graffiti coatings, antifouling
coatings, non-stick surfaces, lubricants.
• Car parts: tires, bumpers, windshields, windscreen wipers, fuel tanks, car seats.
• Household items: buckets, kitchenware, toys (e.g., construction sets and Rubik's cube).
• Medical applications: blood bag, syringes, rubber gloves, surgical suture, contact lenses,
prosthesis, controlled drug delivery and release, matrices for cell growth.
• Personal hygiene and healthcare: diapers using superabsorbent polymers, toothbrushes,
cosmetics, shampoo, condoms.
• Security: personal protective equipment, bulletproof vests, space suits, ropes.
• Separation technologies: synthetic membranes, fuel cell membranes, filtration, ion-exchange
resins.
• Money: polymer banknotes and payment cards.
• 3D printing.

VII