5/21/2021 Introduction to Monomers and Polymers in Chemistry

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Monomers and Polymers in Chemistry

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Polymers, such as Polythene and Polyamide are built from subunits called Monomers.
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By Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Updated June 27, 2019

A monomer is a type of molecule that has the ability to chemically bond with other molecules in
a long chain; a polymer is a chain of an unspecified number of monomers. Essentially,
monomers are the building blocks of polymers which are more complex type of molecules
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5/21/2021 Introduction to Monomers and Polymers in Chemistry
monomers are the building blocks of polymers, which are more complex type of molecules.
Monomers—repeating molecular units—are connected into polymers by covalent bonds.

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5/21/2021 Introduction to Monomers and Polymers in Chemistry

Monomers
The word monomer comes from mono- (one) and -mer (part). Monomers are small molecules
which may be joined together in a repeating fashion to form more complex molecules called
polymers. Monomers form polymers by forming chemical bonds or binding supramolecularly
through a process called polymerization.

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Sometimes polymers are made from bound groups of monomer subunits (up to a few dozen
monomers) called oligomers To qualify as an oligomer the properties of the molecule need to
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5/21/2021 Introduction to Monomers and Polymers in Chemistry
monomers) called oligomers. To qualify as an oligomer, the properties of the molecule need to
change significantly if one or a few subunits are added or removed. Examples of oligomers
include collagen and liquid paraffin.
A related term is "monomeric protein," which is a protein that bonds to make a multiprotein
complex. Monomers are not just building blocks of polymers, but are important molecules in
their own right, which do not necessarily form polymers unless the conditions are right.

Examples of Monomers
Examples of monomers include vinyl chloride (which polymerizes into polyvinyl chloride or
PVC), glucose (which polymerizes into starch, cellulose, laminarin, and glucans), and amino
acids (which polymerize into peptides, polypeptides, and proteins). Glucose is the most
abundant natural monomer, which polymerizes by forming glycosidic bonds.

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5/21/2021 Introduction to Monomers and Polymers in Chemistry

Polymers

The word polymer comes from poly- (many) and -mer (part). A polymer may be a natural or
synthetic macromolecule comprised of repeating units of a smaller molecule (monomers).
While many people use the term 'polymer' and 'plastic' interchangeably, polymers are a much
larger class of molecules which includes plastics, plus many other materials, such as cellulose,
amber, and natural rubber.

Lower molecular weight compounds may be distinguished by the number of monomeric

subunits they contain. The terms dimer, trimer, tetramer, pentamer, hexamer, heptamer,
octamer, nonamer, decamer, dodecamer, eicosamer reflects molecules containing 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 20 monomer units.

Examples of Polymers
Examples of polymers include plastics such as polyethylene, silicones such as silly putty,
biopolymers such as cellulose and DNA, natural polymers such as rubber and shellac, and many
other important macromolecules.

Groups of Monomers and Polymers

The classes of biological molecules may be grouped into the types of polymers they form and the
monomers that act as subunits:

Lipids - polymers called diglycerides, triglycerides; monomers are glycerol and fatty acids

Proteins - polymers are known as polypeptides; monomers are amino acids

Nucleic Acids - polymers are DNA and RNA; monomers are nucleotides, which are in
turn consist of a nitrogenous base, pentose sugar, and phosphate group

Carbohydrates - polymers are polysaccharides and disaccharides*; monomers are

monosaccharides (simple sugars)

*Technically, diglycerides, and triglycerides are not true polymers because they form via
dehydration synthesis of smaller molecules, not from the end-to-end linkage of monomers that
characterizes true polymerization.

How Polymers Form

Polymerization is the process of covalently bonding the smaller monomers into the polymer.
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During polymerization, chemical groups are lost from the monomers so that they may join

together. In the case of biopolymers of carbohydrates, this is a dehydration reaction in which

water is formed.

Resources and Further Reading

Cowie, J.M.G. and Valeria Arrighi. "Polymers: Chemistry and Physics of Modern Materials," 3rd ed. Boca Taton: CRC
Press, 2007.

Sperling, Leslie H. "Introduction to Physical Polymer Science," 4th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2006.

Young, Robert J., and Peter A. Lovell. "Introduction to Polymers," 3rd ed. Boca Raton, LA: CRC Press, Taylor &
Francis Group, 2011.

Cite this Article

Chemical Laws
Chemical Laws
Polar Bond De nition and Examples
Monomer De nition and Examples

Cell Biology Biochemistry

Biological Polymers: Proteins, Types of Chemical Bonds in Proteins
Carbohydrates, Lipids
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5/21/2021 Introduction to Monomers and Polymers in Chemistry

Biochemistry Cell Biology

What Is a Peptide? De nition and Learn About the 4 Types of Protein

Examples Structure

Chemical Laws

What Are Some Examples of Chemistry In Everyday Life

Polymers? What Is a Polymer?

Chemistry

Types of Organic Compounds Biochemistry

Steps of Transcription From DNA to

RNA
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5/21/2021 Introduction to Monomers and Polymers in Chemistry
RNA

Cell Biology Chemical Laws

What Is RNA? Amino Acid De nition and Examples

Cell Biology
Biochemistry Amino Acids: Structure, Groups and
Protein and Polypeptide Structure Function

Cell Biology Cell Biology

What Are Proteins and Their Learn About Nucleic Acids and Their
Components? Function
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5/21/2021 Introduction to Monomers and Polymers in Chemistry

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