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POLYMERS

Short Answer Questions:

**1.What is PHBV? How is it useful to man?
Ans. PHBV is Poly β-hydroxy butyrate-co- β-hydroxy valerate .It is a biodegradable polymer.

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It is used in speciality packing, orthopaedic devices and in controlled release of drugs.

**2.)Write the names and structures of monomers of the following polymers?

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a..Bakelite and b. Nylon- 6,6.
Ans. S. No. Polymer Monomer
OH

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a. Bakelite Phenol [ ] and Formaldehyde (HCHO).
b. Nylon-6, 6 m Hexa methylenediamine [H2N (CH2)6NH2] and
Adipic acid [HOOC (CH2)4COOH]
**3. What is PDI?
Ans. The ratio between weight average molecular mass and the number average molecular mass of
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a polymer is called poly dispersity index.
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PDI =
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The value of PDI for polymers is in between 1 and 1.5.

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*4. What is Ziegler-Natta catalyst? Give its use?

Ans. TiCl4 and Al (CH3)3 is Ziegler-Natta catalyst. It is used in the polymerisation of ethylene in to
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TiCl + Al ( CH )
polythene. nCH 2 = CH 2 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯→ 4
( CH 2 − CH 2 ) n
3 3

Ethene Polythene
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*5.What are addition and condensation polymers? Give example?

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Ans. The polymers formed by the repeated addition of monomer molecules possessing double or
Triple bonds are called addition polymers.
E.g., Polythene, polystyrene... etc.
Equation for polythene preparation is
TiCl4 + Al ( CH 3 )3
nCH 2 = CH 2 ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯→ ( CH 2 − CH 2 ) n
Ethene Polythene

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The polymers formed by the repeated condensation reaction between two different bi- or tri-
functional monomeric species are called condensation polymers.
E.g., Terylene, nylon-6, 6 etc. Equation for nylon-6, 6 preparation is

n HOOC–(CH2)4–COOH + n H2N–(CH2)6–NH2 ⎯⎯⎯⎯

− n H 2O
→ – HN(CH2)6 NH–CO–(CH2)4 –CO– n

6. What are Elastomers and fibres?

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Ans. Elastomers: Rubber like solids in which the Polymer chains are held by very week Van der
Waals forces and show elastic properties are called as elastomers.

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E.g.: Buna – N rubber, Buna – S, Neoprene etc.
Fibres: Thread forming solids in which the Polymer chains are held by strong forces like
Hydrogen bonding are called fibres.

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E.g.: Polyamides, Nylon-6,6 , Polyesters. Terylene (or) Dacron.
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*7. Define thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers with two examples of each?
Effect of heat on these polymers is the basis of this classification.
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Ans. Thermoplastic polymers: Those polymers (linear or slightly branched long chain
molecules), which are capable of softening on heating and hardening on cooling are called
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thermoplastics.
E.g.: polythene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene etc.
Thermosetting polymers: Those polymers (cross linked or heavily branched molecules),
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Which on heating do not soften and cannot be remoulded are called thermosetting polymers.
On heating they undergo extensive cross-linking in moulds and become infusible.
E.g.: bakelite, urea- formaldehyde resins etc.
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8. How can you differentiate between addition and condensation polymerization?

Ans. Addition polymerization Condensation polymerization
1. Monomer units have a double bond or 1. Monomer units have specific
triple bond in their molecules. These functional group which represent their
represent their functionality. functionality

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2. It is generally chain growth polymerization. 2.Itisgenerallystepgrowthpolymerization.
3. It doesnot involves the elimination of small 3. It involves the elimination of small
molecules like H2O, NH3 etc. molecules like H2O, NH3 etc.

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9*.) What are the monomeric repeating units of nylon-6 and nylon-6, 6?

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Ans. Monomeric repeating units of nylon-6 is which is derived from
caprolactam.
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Monomeric repeating unit of nylon-6, 6 is which is derived from
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monomers hexamethylene diamine and adipic acid.
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*10. What is a biodegradable polymer? Give an example of biodegradable aliphatic

polyester.
Ans. A polymer that is decomposed over a long period of time either by itself or by the action of
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microorganisms is called biodegradable polymer. Use of such polymer and their disposal does not
create environmental problems.
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Example: Poly β-hydroxy butyrate-co β- hydroxy valerate (PHBV)

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*11. Write the name and structure of one of the common initiators used in free radical
addition polymerization?
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Ans. The common initiators used in free radical addition polymerization is Benzyol peroxide i.e.

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12. Explain the difference between buna-N and buna-S.

Ans. Buna-N and buna-S both are synthetic rubbers and copolymers. These two differ in their
composition.
Buna-N: Constituents are buta-1, 3-diene and acrylonitrile.
Buna-S: Constituents are buta-1, 3-diene and styrene.

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13. Give the structure of nylon 2–nylon 6.
Ans. Nylon 2–nylon 6 is a biodegradable polymer. It is an alternating copolymer obtained by the
condensation of glycine and amino caproic acid. It is chemically a polyamide.

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Structure of nylon 2– nylon 6 is given as:

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– N–CH2–C–N–(CH2)5–C –
| || | ||
H O H O n
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*14.What is vulcanization of rubber?
Ans. The process of heating raw rubber with sulphur and an appropriate additive at a temperature
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range 373K to 415K to improve its physical properties is known as vulcanization. During
vulcanization sulphur forms cross links at the reactive sites of double bonds and thus rubber gets
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stiffened.

**15. Write the monomers used for getting the following polymers.
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(i) Polyvinyl chloride (ii) Teflon (iii) Bakelite.

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Ans. i. The monomer used in poly vinyl chloride is vinyl chloride i.e.
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ii. The monomer used in Teflon is Tetra fluoro ethene i.e.

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iii. The monomers used in Bakelite are and .

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16. Explain the term copolymerization and give two examples.

Ans. Copolymerization: It is the polymerization reaction in which more than one type of
monomers polymerize to form a copolymer.
Examples:
(i) Buna-S: Copolymer of monomers 1, 3-butadiene and styrene.

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(ii) Buna-N: Copolymer of monomers 1, 3-butadiene and acrylonitrile.

17. Distinguish between the terms homo polymer and copolymer and give an example of each.

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Ans. Homo polymer: a polymer, in which a single type of monomer is used, is called homo
polymer.
E.g. Polythene, polystyrene etc.

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Copolymer: A polymer in which the monomers are more than one type is called copolymer.
E.g., buna-S, buna-N etc.
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18. Give one example for natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers?
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Ans.
Natural polymers: Those polymers which are found in plants and animals are called
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Natural polymers.
E.g., starch, cellulose, proteins etc.
Synthetic polymers: These are synthesized with the help of chemicals in industries
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E.g.: polythene, nylon-6, 6, synthetic rubber etc.

Semi synthetic polymers: These are the synthetic derivatives of the natural polymers.
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E.g.: Cellulose acetate (Rayon) and cellulose nitrate.

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*19. What are Number average and weight average molecular mass of polymers? A polymer
contains 10 molecules with molecular mass 10,000 and 10 molecules with molecular mass
100000. Calculate the number average molecular weight?
Ans. Number average molecular mass ( M n );
Let the number of particles of mass M1 be N1, mass M2 be N2, etc., in a polymer.

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i. The number average molecular weight of the polymer,
α α
N1M 1 + N 2 M 2 + ....
M n = ∑ Ni M i ∑ Ni = N1 + N 2 + ....

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n =1 n =1

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ii. The weight average molecular weight of the polymer, ( M w ) :
α α N1M 12 + N 2 M 2 2 + ......
M w = ∑ Ni M i 2 ∑ Ni M i =
n =1 n =1 N1M 1 + N 2 M 2 + ......
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N1M1 + N 2 M 2 10 X 10000 + 10 X 100000
Number average molecular mass, M n = = = 55,000
N1 + N 2 10 + 10
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