POLYMER CLASSIFICATIONS AND NOMENCLATURE

The most fundamental classification of polymers is whether they are naturally occurring or synthetic. Common natural polymers (often referred to as biopolymers) include macromolecules such as polysaccharides e.g., starches, sugars, cellulose, gums, etc.), proteins e.g., enzymes), fibers e.g., wool, silk, cotton), polyisoprenes e.g., natural rubber), and nucleic acids e.g., RNA, DNA). The synthesis of biodegradable polymers from natural biopolymer sources is an area of increasing interest, due to dwindling world petroleum supplies and disposal concerns. 

As a more general structural definition, a polymer synthesized from only one type of monomer is referred to as a homopolymer. In contrast, a polymer that is formed from more than one type of monomer is known as a copolymer. The terms 

Poly (ethylene), PE Fuel tanks, windshield washer bottles 

Poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) + poly(styrene) (PS) blend + Poly(butadiene) = ABS Exterior and interior trim, wheel covers 

Nylon-6,6 Intake manifolds, rocker cover/air cleaner, hubcaps  

Polyester Grill opening panel, sunroof frame, passenger-side airbag doors  

Poly(vinyl butyral), PVB Laminated safety glass  

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Major advances and problems in the field of synthesis, properties, structure and applications of polymers containing metallochelate units are discussed. Included are terminology, classification and nomenclature of these compounds as well as major approaches to calculating the equilibrium constants of chelation with polymeric ligands and chelate effect in metallopolymeric systems. Special attention is paid to the production and structural features of polymers containing metallochelate units. The most important applications of such polymers are classified... 

Note also that nylon-6 was listed in Table 2-2 as the product of the ringopening polymerization of the cyclic monomer caprolactam. So here is an example of the same polymer that can be made from (at least) two different monomers by two different mechanisms. This illustrates the complexity of our classification and nomenclature schemes, because polycaprolactam,... 

Classification and Nomenclature of Supramolecular Compounds, p. 267 Clathrate Hydrates, p. 274 Crystal Growth Mechanisms, p. 364 Self-Assembly Definition and Kinetic and Thermodynamic Considerations, p. 1248 Self-Assembly in Biochemistry , p. 1257 Supramolecular Polymers, p. 1443... 

As is the case in most discussions of interfacial systems and their applications, definitions and nomenclature can play a significant role in the way the material is presented. The definition of an emulsion to be followed here is that they are heterogeneous mixtures of at least one immiscible liquid dispersed in another in the form of droplets, the diameters of which are, in general, greater than 0.1 (.m. Such systems possess a minimal stability, generally defined rather arbitrarily by the application of some relevant reference system such as time to phase separation or some related phenomenon. Stability may be, and usually is, enhanced by the inclusion of additives such as surfactants, finely divided solids, and polymers. Such a definition excludes foams and sols from classification as emulsions, although it is possible that systems prepared as emulsions may, at some subsequent time, become dispersions of solid particles or foams. 

Vinyl resins (1934) n. According to common chemical nomenclature, all resins and polymers made from monomers containing the vinyl group, H2C=CHX. In the chemical literature, polystyrene, polyolefins, polymethyl methacrylate and many other styrenic, ethenic, and acrylic co-polymers are classified as vinyls. In the plastics literature, the above materials are given their own classifications and the term vinyl is restricted to compounds in which X, above, is not H, a hydrocarbon radical, nor an acrylic-type ester. In daily use, the term vinyl plastics refers primarily to polyvinyl chloride and its co-polymers, and secondarily to the following polyvinyl acetal, polyvinyl acetate, poly-vinyl alcohol, polyvinyl but-yral, poly(n-vinylcar-bazole), polyvinyl dichloride, polyvinyl formal, polyvinylidene chloride, polyisobutylvinyl ether, and poly (1-vinylpyrrolidone). Mishra MKM, Yagd Y (1998) Handbook of vinyl polymerization. Marcel Dekker, New York. 

Schultz, J.L. Polymer Nomenclature, Classification, and Retrieval in the Du Pont Central Report Index . J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci. 1975,15, 94-100. 

The nomenclature of cellular polymers is not standardized classifications have been made according to the properties of the base polymer (22), the methods of manufacture, the cellular stmcture, or some combination of these. The most comprehensive classification of cellular plastics, proposed in 1958 (23), has not been adopted and is not consistent with some of the common names for the more important commercial products. 

The complex nature and interconnectivity of plant cell wall polymers preclude straightforward enzymatic digestion. There are dozens of enzyme families involved in plant cell wall hydrolysis, including cellulases, hemicellu-lases, pectinases, and lignin-modifying enzymes. The Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) has classified cellulases and hemicellulases, like all enzymes, into different classes based on activity. Table 33.2 and Table 33.3, compiled from the IUBMB enzyme nomenclature database (http //www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/ enzyme/), list the IUBMB enzyme classifications for cellulases and hemicellulases.153... 

Physically persistent stabilizers classified as functionalized oligomers or polymers can be synthesized by polyreactions of functionalized monomers and/or by polymer analogous reactions exploiting the reactivity of functionalized reactive low molecular weight compounds with polymeric substrates. For a detailed classification of synthetical approaches, the classification principle used in Houben-Weyl [42] was adopted. The nomenclature of functionalized polymers is based on the monomer s unit principle. Abbreviations of conventional polymers are used as recommended by [1, 2]. 

The many ways to make polymers can be broken into two types of reactions based on the mechanisms of the polymerization, step and chain reactions (5). This reaction classification was termed condensation or addition reactions in the past but this archaic nomenclature is slowly dying away. The labels step and chain were developed for the two types of polymerizations by Flory and Mark (5, 6). All step reactions conduct the same stepwise reaction between all reactive entities in the reaction mixture. The... 

Non-linear polymers comprise branched, graft, star, cyclic, and network macromolecules. Polymer blends, interpenetrating networks, and polymer-polymer complexes are summarized as macromolecular assemblies. Their skeletal structure should be reflected in the name by using an italicized connective as a prefix to the source-based name of the polymer component or components to which the prefix applies. Table 5.10.1 lists aU classifications for non-Unear macromolecules and macromolecular assemblies with their corresponding prefixes [971UP2]. Examples for nomenclature are given in Table 5.10.2 (non-linear macromolecules) and Table 5.10.3 (macromolecular assemblies). 

Classification of polymers by functional type is not generally suitable because some of the classes would be excessively large and the reader might have to search several classes to find a particular compound. Indexing by formula requires too much time and effort in searching for common polymers. The best solution is a simple alphabetical listing. To make an alphabetical listing practical it is necessary to define a set of rules of nomenclature. 

There is no official classification system. However, the nomenclature convention of SIS, SBS, SEES, and SEPS, which Shell (now Kraton Polymers EEC) set up, is widely used. 

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