Polyesters and polyamides

Types of polymer

• Addition polymers – formed from alkene monomers. The C=C bond breaks,
allowing the carbon to attach to another alkene.

• Condensation polymers – formed when two functional groups react. A bond is

formed through the removal of water (a condensation reaction.)

Addition polymerisation

• Addition polymers are formed by joining lots of alkene monomers in a chain.

• The double carbon bond breaks, allowing another alkene to connect to the carbon.
• They are represented by drawing a single subunit (the monomer) inside square
brackets, with a little ‘n’ in the right-hand corner. Remember to draw bonds sticking
outside the square brackets to make it clear that the chain continues.
• Polymers are named according to the monomer it’s made from and ‘poly’ as a prefix.
E.g., poly(ethene) is a polymer made of ethene monomers.
Condensation polymerisation

• Condensation polymers form when monomer functional groups reach, forming a

connecting bond and a water molecule.
• Monomers join in a condensation reaction.
• Polyesters are a type of condensation polymer — they are used for making plastics
and clothing.
• An ester is formed when a carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol.
• A polyester forms when a molecule with two carboxylic acids groups (a
dicarboxylic acid) reacts with a molecule with two alcohol groups (a diol).
• The carboxylic acid group on one molecule and the alcohol group on another
molecule react to form an ester bond (-COO).
• This reaction happens several times until a long chain is formed, made up of
monomers connected by ester bonds.

• Polyamides are another type of condensation polymer, formed when an amine

reacts with a carboxylic acid.
• A molecule of water is removed, leaving behind the amide (-CONH) linkage between
the monomers.
• The formation of both ester bonds and amide bonds are examples of condensation
reactions.
Hydrolysis of polyesters and polyamides

The addition of a water molecule in a hydrolysis reaction breaks apart the ester/amide
linkage to form the original monomers.

Hydrolysis is usually done with the addition of an acid (for polyamide hydrolysis) or a base
(for polyester hydrolysis) to speed up the reaction.