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CIE IGCSE Chemistry Your notes

Polymers
Contents
Polymers
Addition & Condensation Polymers
Plastics & their Disposal
Proteins

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Polymers
Your notes
Polymers: the basics
Polymers are large molecules built by linking 50 or more smaller molecules called monomers
Each repeat unit is connected to the adjacent units via covalent bonds
Examples of polymers include PVC and nylon

Many monomers join together to form a polymer

Poly(ethene) is formed by the addition polymerisation of ethene monomers
Addition polymerisation involves the addition of many monomers to make a long chained polymer
In this case, many ethene monomers join together due to the carbon carbon double bond breaking

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Your notes

Poly(ethene) is formed by addition polymerisation using ethene monomers

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Addition & Condensation Polymers

Your notes
Addition polymers
Extended tier only
Addition polymers are formed by the joining up of many monomers and only occur in monomers that
contain C=C bonds
One of the bonds in each C=C bond breaks and forms a bond with the adjacent monomer
The polymer formed will only contain single bonds
Many polymers can be made by the addition of alkene monomers
Others are made from alkene monomers with different atoms attached to the monomer such as
chlorine or a hydroxyl group
The name of the polymer is deduced by putting the name of the monomer in brackets and adding
poly- as the prefix
For example if propene is the alkene monomer used, then the name is poly(propene)
Poly(ethene) is formed by the addition polymerisation of ethene monomers
Deducing the polymer from the monomer
Polymer molecules are very large compared with most other molecule
Repeat units are used when displaying the formula
To draw a repeat unit:
Change the double bond in the monomer to a single bond in the repeat unit
Add a continuation bond to each end of the repeat unit
The bonds on either side of the polymer must extend outside the brackets (these are called
extension or continuation bonds)
A small subscript n is written on the bottom right hand side to indicate a large number of repeat
units
Add on the rest of the groups in the same order that they surrounded the double bond in the
monomer
Examples of some addition polymers

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Your notes

The repeat unit for the polymer should have an n in the bottom right hand corner

Deducing the monomer from the polymer

To deduce the monomer from the polymer:
Identify the repeating unit in the polymer
Change the single bond in the repeat unit to a double bond in the monomer
Remove the bond from each end of the repeat unit

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Your notes

Th monomer has been identified, a double bond added and the atoms drawn in

Exam Tip
You could be asked to draw the repeat unit for any given monomer and vice versa.
You would only need to draw the structure of one monomer if you have been given the polymer.

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Condensation polymers
Extended tier only Your notes
Condensation polymers are formed when two different monomers are linked together with
the removal of a small molecule, usually water
This is a key difference between condensation polymers and addition polymers:
Addition polymerisation forms the polymer molecule only
Condensation polymerisation forms the polymer molecule and one water molecule per linkage
The monomers have two functional groups present, one on each end
The functional groups at the ends of one monomer react with the functional group on the end of the
other monomer, in so doing creating long chains of alternating monomers, forming the polymer
Forming nylon
Nylon is a polyamide made from dicarboxylic acid monomers (a carboxylic with a -COOH group at
either end) and diamines (an amine with an -NH2 group at either end)
Each -COOH group reacts with another -NH2 group on another monomer
An amide linkage is formed with the subsequent loss of one water molecule per link
Forming nylon

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Nylon is a polyamide formed from a dicarboxylic acid and a diamine

The structure of nylon can be represented by drawing out the polymer using boxes to represent the Your notes
carbon chains

Diagram showing a section of nylon

Forming polyesters
PET or polyethylene terephthalate to give its full name, is a polyester made from dicarboxylic acid
monomers (a carboxylic with a -COOH group at either end) and diols (alcohol with an -OH group at
either end)
Each -COOH group reacts with another -OH group on another monomer
An ester linkage is formed with the subsequent loss of one water molecule per link
For every ester linkage formed in condensation polymerisation, one molecule of water is formed from
the combination of a proton (H+) and a hydroxyl ion (OH–)
PET is also used in synthetic fibres as is sold under the trade name of terylene
Forming PET

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Your notes

PET is a polyester formed from a dicarboxylic acid and a diol

The structure of PET can be represented by drawing out the polymer using boxes to represent the
carbon chains
This can be done for all polyesters

Diagram showing a section of PET

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Exam Tip
Your notes
You don't need to know the detailed chemical structure of PET, just the symbolic drawing showing the
alternating blocks and the linking ester group. Be careful not to exactly repeat the linking group in
nylon or PET; the link alternates by reversing the order of the atoms, rather like a mirror image.

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Plastics & their Disposal

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Plastics & their disposal
Plastics are made from polymers
Many polymers are chemically unreactive which means that they are non-biodegradable
This means that the disposal of plastics can cause environmental issues
Incineration
Polymers release a lot of heat energy when they burn and produces carbon dioxide which is a
greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change
Some polymers release toxic fumes when they burn
An example of this is poly(vinylchloride) which releases toxic hydrogen chloride gas when burned
If incinerated by incomplete combustion, carbon monoxide will be produced which is a toxic gas
Polluting oceans
Plastic waste is accumulating in oceans and causing huge disruptions to marine life
Landfills
Waste polymers are disposed of in landfill sites but this takes up valuable land, as polymers are non-
biodegradable so micro-organisms such as decomposers cannot break them down
This causes sites to quickly fill up

Disposal of polymers is an environmental problem

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PET re-polymerisation
Extended tier only Your notes
PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate, a common polymer used to make things like plastic bottles
It is a condensation polymer consisting of repeating ester units, so it is type of polyester, like terylene
One of the problems with recycling polymers is that the conditions needed to break them down, which
are usually high temperatures and pressures, can degrade the monomers making them unusable for
re-polymerisation
PET is relatively easy to convert back into the monomers
It can be depolymerised either using enzymes or by chemical methods
Enzymes present in microbes breakdown the PET into the original monomers
The same can be achieved using solvents a catalyst and mild heating
The monomers are recovered and be re-polymerised into new PET
This saves on resources and energy, reducing the carbon footprint of the production process
The re-polymerisation of PET

The breakdown of PET into its two monomers takes place using enzymes or chemical catalysts and mild
conditions

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Proteins
Your notes
Proteins
Extended tier only
Proteins are an example of condensation polymers
They are formed from amino acid monomers joined together by amide links
Amino acids are small molecules containing NH2 and COOH functional groups
Due to containing amide links and being found in biological systems, proteins are known as natural
polyamides
In proteins, the amide links are known as peptide links
There are twenty common amino acids, each differing by their side chain, represented by R

General structure of an amino acid

Proteins can contain between 60 and 600 of these amino acids in different orders
These are the monomers which polymerise to form the protein
The formation of a protein

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Your notes

A protein is produced by a condensation polymerisation reaction

The structure of proteins can be represented using the following diagram whereby the boxes represent
the carbon chains

Diagram showing a section of protein

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Exam Tip Your notes

For your exam, you are only required to draw proteins using the boxes representing the carbon chains.

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