Polypropylene, repeating unit

PHF has a repeat unit corresponding to a fully fluorinated polypropylene repeat unit and is significantly more rigid than the PTFE repeat unit with a glass transition temperature about 11C (52F). 

Similarly, the random introduction by copolymerization of stericaHy incompatible repeating unit B into chains of crystalline A reduces the crystalline melting point and degree of crystallinity. If is reduced to T, crystals cannot form. Isotactic polypropylene and linear polyethylene homopolymers are each highly crystalline plastics. However, a random 65% ethylene—35% propylene copolymer of the two, poly(ethylene- (9-prop5lene) is a completely amorphous ethylene—propylene mbber (EPR). On the other hand, block copolymers of the two, poly(ethylene- -prop5iene) of the same overall composition, are highly crystalline. X-ray studies of these materials reveal both the polyethylene lattice and the isotactic polypropylene lattice, as the different blocks crystallize in thek own lattices. 

Mention should be made of the nomenclature for the polymer. Industrially the materially is invariably known in the English-speaking world as polypropylene. However, the lUPAC name for the monomer is propene and until 1975 the recommended lUPAC name was polypropene, a term very rarely used. The latest lUPAC rules base the name of a polymer on the constitutional repeating unit, which in this case is a propylene unit (c.f. a methylene unit for polyethylene) and this leads to the name poly(propylene) (i.e. with brackets). In this volume the more common, unbracketed but still unambiguous name will be used. 

C13-0049. Draw the structure of polypropylene, showing at least five repeat units. 

The pioneering work of Natta and co-workers introduced the concept of tacticity, i.e. the orderliness of the succession of configurational repeating units in the main chain of a polymer. For example, in polypropene (polypropylene), possible steric arrangements are (shown in Fischer projections displayed horizontally) ... 

The repeat unit (III) in polypropylene oxide) [IUPAC poly(oxy[l-methylethylene])], on the other hand, possesses stereocenters that are chirotopic since the two chain segements... 

PHAs can consist of a diverse set of repeating unit structures and have been studied intensely because the physical properties of these biopolyesters can be similar to petrochemical-derived plastics such as polypropylene (see Table 1). These biologically produced polyesters have already found application as bulk commodity plastics, fishing lines, and for medical use. PHAs have also attracted much attention as biodegradable polymers that can be produced from biorenewable resources. Many excellent reviews on the in vivo or in vitro synthesis of PHAs and their properties and applications exist, underlining the importance of this class of polymers [2, 6, 7, 12, 26-32]. 

Thermoplastic Polymers. Most thermoplastic polymers are used in high-volume, widely recognized applications, so they are often referred to as commodity plastics. (We will elaborate upon the distinction between a polymer and a plastic in Chapter 7, but for now we simply note that a plastic is a polymer that contains other additives and is usually identified by a variety of commercial trade names. There are numerous databases, both in books [1] and on the Internet [2], that can be used to identify the primary polymer components of most plastics. With a few notable exceptions, we will refer to most polymers by their generic chemical name.) The most common commodity thermoplastics are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS). These thermoplastics all have in common the general repeat unit -(CHX-CH2)-, where -X is -H for PE, -CH3 for PP, -Cl for PVC, and a benzene ring for PS. When we discuss polymerization reactions in Chapter 3, we will see that all of these thermoplastics can be produced by the same type of reaction. 

Problom 6.57 Polypropylene can be synthesized by the acid-catalyzed polymerization of propylene, (a) Show the first three steps, (b) Indicate the repeating unit (mer). M... 

Harada et al. explored the compatibility of CD with various polymeric backbones including polyethylene oxide) (PEG), polypropylene oxide) (PPG), polyisobutylene (PIB), and polyethylene (PE) [77-87]. The corresponding polyrotaxanes (36 to 47) were prepared by Method 2, simply by mixing a solution of CD and the polymer. The cavity size of CD was found to be the main factor in the threading process. While one a-CD (20) was threaded per two repeat units in PEG (m/n=0.50) and every three repeat units for PE (m/n=0.333), it was too small for PIB and PPG. On the other hand, two PPG units complexed per /(-CD (21). Because the upper limit of the min value is controlled by the depth of the CD cavity, the m/n value remained constant for the same type of backbone, irrespective of the end group. However, the nature and concentration, i.e., polymer... 

Syndiotactic polypropylene can adopt a number of configurations. The sample studied (Form I) consisted of 2-fold helices with four monomer units in the repeat units. As a unidimensional crystal the line group... 

A polymer is a large molecule composed of many smaller repeating units (the monomers) bonded together. Alkenes serve as monomers for some of the most common polymers, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, poly(vinyl chloride),... 

The enumeration and geometry of the possible stereoregular structures of polypropylene oxide illustrate the value of the above concepts of symmetry. Propylene oxide monomer has a truly asymmetric carbon, and the repeat unit in the polypropylene oxide chain can be either of the two optical isomeric... 

When the repeat units of a polymer chain are themselves asymmetric, on account of their containing a carbon atom with four different substituents, the large number of possible permutations of right-handed d) and left-handed (/) units represents a large number of. sfm c-isomers. This kind of isomerism in polymers is called tacticity. When the arrangement along the chain is completely ordered, the polymer is said to be stereoregular. In a substituted vinyl polymer like polypropylene, - CH2-CH(CH3))- , there are three main types of steric isomer ... 

Figure 5.1. Molecular structures of the chemical repeat units for common polymers. Shown are (a) polyethylene (PE), (b) poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), (c) polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), (d) polypropylene (PP), (e) polyisobutylene (PIB), (f) polybutadiene (PBD), (g) c/5-polyisoprene (natural rubber), (h) traw5-polychloroprene (Neoprene rubber), (i) polystyrene (PS), (j) poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc), (k) poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), ( ) polycaprolactam (polyamide - nylon 6), (m) nylon 6,6, (n) poly(ethylene teraphthalate), (o) poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS).

Linear polymers. A linear polymer is a polymer molecule in which the atoms are more or less arranged in a long chain called the backbone. This is best illustrated with the structure of polyethylene (Fig. 14.1). However, polymers such as polypropylene or poly(l-pentene) in which a small chain called pendant groups presents in the repeating unit, are also designated as a linear polymer. The chains of pendant groups are much... 

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