Polymers

This lesson covers polymers and their structure in the context of bonding, structure and properties, as required by the AQA GCSE Combined Science Trilogy specification (8464), section 4.2.2. You need to understand the structure of polymers and how this affects their properties.

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What Are Polymers?

Polymers are very large molecules made up of many small repeating units called monomers that are joined together by covalent bonds. The process of joining monomers together is called polymerisation.

$n \text{ monomers} \xrightarrow{\text{polymerisation}} \text{polymer}$n monomerspolymerisation​polymer

• Monomer — the small molecule that is repeated.
• Polymer — the long-chain molecule made from many monomers.
• The prefix "poly-" means "many."

Examples

Monomer	Polymer	Common Use
Ethene (C₂H₄)	Poly(ethene) / polyethylene	Plastic bags, bottles
Propene (C₃H₆)	Poly(propene) / polypropylene	Food containers, ropes
Chloroethene (C₂H₃Cl)	Poly(chloroethene) / PVC	Pipes, window frames
Styrene	Polystyrene	Packaging, insulation

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Structure of Polymers