Cambridge (CIE) O Level Your notes

Chemistry
11.8 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
Some polymers contain just one type of unit
Examples include poly(ethene) and poly(chloroethene), commonly known as PVC
Others contain two or more different types of monomer units and which are
called copolymers
Examples include nylon and biological proteins
Different linkages also exist, depending on the monomers and the type of
polymerisation
Examples of linkages are covalent bonds, amide links and ester links

Diagram showing how lots of monomers bond 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
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 with the polymer being formed containing single bonds only
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 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

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 Your notes

Examples of addition polymerisation: polythene and PVC

Deducing 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

Diagram showing the monomer from the repeat unit of an addition polymer
(polychloroethene)

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 Your notes
Examiner Tips and Tricks
You should be able to draw the box diagrams representing polymers where each box
represents a part of the repeating hydrocarbon chain. The functional groups on the
monomers and the link formed in the polymers are the important parts and must be
clearly drawn.

Condensation Polymers
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
Hydrolysing (adding water) to the compound in acidic conditions usually reverses the
reaction and produces the monomers by rupturing the peptide link

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

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 Your notes

The condensation reaction in which the polyamide, nylon is produced

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

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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–)
Your notes
PET is also used in synthetic fibres as is sold under the trade name of terylene

The condensation reaction in which PET is produced

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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 Examiner Tips and Tricks
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.

Differences between Addition &

Condensation Polymerisation
Table showing differences between addition and
condensation polymerisation
Addition Polymerisation Condensation Polymerisation

Involves one monomer type Involves two monomer types each containing two of the
containing a C=C bond same functional group OR One monomer type with two
different functional groups

One product formed Two types of product formed- the polymer, and a small
molecule (usually water)

Functional group involved is Involves two functional groups on each monomer

a C=C bond

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 Plastics & Their Disposal
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Plastics & their Disposal

Synthetic polymers are ones made in a factory, for example nylon, terylene and lycra
Nylon is a polyamide used to produce clothing, fabrics, nets and ropes
PET, also known as Terylene, is a polyester made from monomers which are joined
together by ester links
PET is used extensively in the textile industry and is often mixed with cotton to produce
clothing

Table showing Uses of Plastics

Non-biodegradable plastics
These are plastics which do not degrade over time or take a very long time to degrade,
and cause significant pollution problems
In particular plastic waste has been spilling over into the seas and oceans and is causing
huge disruptions to marine life
In landfills waste polymers take up valuable space as they are non-biodegradable so
microorganisms cannot break them down. This causes the landfill sites to quickly fill up
Polymers release a lot of heat energy when incinerated and produce carbon dioxide
which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change

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 If incinerated by incomplete combustion, carbon monoxide will be produced which is a
toxic gas that reduces the capacity of the blood to carry oxygen
Your notes
Polymers can be recycled but different polymers must be separated from each other
which is a difficult and expensive process

PET Re-polymerisation
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 a type of
polyester
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 breakdown of PET into its two monomers takes place using enzymes or chemical
catalysts and mild conditions
The monomers are recovered and polymerised into new PET
This saves on resources and energy, reducing the carbon footprint of the production
process

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Proteins
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Proteins
Proteins are condensation polymers which are formed from amino acid monomers
joined together by amide links (in proteins also known as a peptide link) similar to the
structure in nylon
The units in proteins are different however, consisting of amino acids
Amino acids are small molecules containing NH2 and COOH functional groups

General structure of an amino acid

There are twenty common amino acids, each differing by their side chain, represented
by R
Proteins can contain between 60 and 600 of these amino acids in different orders
These are the monomers which polymerise to form the protein

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 Your notes

Diagram showing condensation polymerisation to produce a protein

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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