What is a polymer ?

Substance in which molecules form long chains

usually several thousands of atoms together
starting from a single molecule.
Single molecule is called Monomer
Basically, all polymers are formed by
the creation of chemical linkages
between monomers. The linkages are
formed by either one or a combination
of two types of reactions namely
addition and condensation reactions.
Nature
The behaviour and structure of the polymers are
based both on the chemical nature and the way

in which the chains fit together.

 When subjected to stress

•Stretching

•Bending

•Interference of molecules material this shows a

delay between the application of the stress and the

resulting strain. This is called visco-elastic
behavior
 When subjected to temperature

polymer materials is to soften them and eventually to

cause them to form a viscous melt in the case of
thermoplastic materials, or to form a gel like soft
structure in the case of thermoset materials.
 When subjected to electrical field

• the effect will vary with the structure of the material.

• if there is a mild dipole induced and virtually no
charge carrier migration, then it is a good electrical
insulator with a low dielectric constant and good to
excellent resistance to dielectric breakdown.
 When subjected to
electro-magnetic radiation
•the structure which will propagate radiation is called
transparent otherwise opaque.
• many plastics are not only transparent but they are
colourless when they do not selectively absorb certain wave
lengths of light in the visible spectrum.
 When subjected to U-V rays

• subjected to chemical change

• activation energy causes breakage and formation of new
bonds
•In some cases the action of the light cause the release of
gaseous products such as HCl in PVC or the change in some
of physical properties of the material such as impact strength,
tensile strength or some electrical properties.
 General classifications

based on
•Chemical behavior
Thermoplastic & thermoset
A thermoplastic consists of long, linear molecules
each of which may side-chains or groups (i.e.
branched are present in the molecules but are not
cross linked).
When heated the individual chain slips
causing plastic flow. Thus they can be
repeatedly melted and reshaped by
heating and cooling so that any scrap
generated can be reused. No chemical
change occurs during the deformation
but it burned some degree.
Thermoplastics
can be again classifieds as
commodity and engineering plastics.
The commodity plastics are used where in no-load
or very low load applications, while the engineering
plastics can be designed to carry loads for a long
period of time.
Commodity plastics can be
again classified as polyolefin’s,
styrenic, vinyl, others.