Polimers Types and Properties

Polymers are large molecules and have the same structural unit repeating over and over and these repeating units are known as monomers. These monomers are attached with each other with covalent bonds and form polymers. Polymers generally consist of high molecular weight and over 10000 atoms. In the synthesis process, which is known as polymerization in which longer polymer chains are obtaine. Polymers are mainly divided into two types based on their method of synthesis. If the monomers have double bonds between carbons from addition reactions, polymers can be synthesized. These polymers are known as addition polymers. In some of the polymerization reactions, when two monomers are joined, a small molecule like water is removed. Such polymers are condensation polymers. Polymers have very different physical and chemical properties than their monomers.

Polymers have very different physical and chemical properties than their monomers. Moreover, according to the number of repeating the polymer, the properties differ. There are a large number of polymers present in the natural environment, and they play very important roles. Synthetic polymers are also used widely for different purposes. Polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, nylon, and Bakelite are some of the synthetic polymers. When producing synthetic polymers, the process should always be highly controlled to get the desired product. Polymers are used as adhesives, lubricants, paints, films, fibers, plastic goods, etc

Now come to the bio-polymers are polymers synthesized from living organisms. There are three main bio polymers in living system are names as polysaccharides, proteins and polynucleotides (nucleic acid). The structural unit of polysaccharides is monosaccharides (sugars). When two monosaccharides are joined together to form a glycosidic bond, a water molecule is released.

Polysaccharides play structural and functional roles in organisms. Glycogen is a storage polysaccharide, whereas cellulose is a component in the cell walls of plant cells. Glucose is the monomer for both glycogen and cellulose polymers. Proteins are made of polypeptides, which are biopolymers of amino acid monomers. DNA and RNA are two vital polynucleotides that are found in organisms. Biopolymer synthesize process is a dehydration process, where a water molecule is released with the formation of a covalent bond. Biopolymers are very complex, and there is a wide variety of them. They can be linear or branched, and the folding patterns are unique to each biopolymers.

Unlike synthetic polymers, biopolymers are easily degradable. Therefore bio-polymers can be used to replace some of the synthetic polymers. They can be hydrolyzed by enzymes, or else they can be denatured by heating, adding chemicals, or by mechanical forces. Biopolymers have a defined and very specific structure, because biological system s hoghly selective in nature.