(PVC Water Pipes in housing estates)
Many of you have heard or learned about Polymer in school. In layman’s term, it is known to many as “Plastics“, just like what my mother would call these group of substances.
Polymers are an important class of covalent molecular compounds in which the molecules are very big (macromolecules) and are made up of a large number of small repeating units or molecules linked together.
There may be several thousand repeating units in a polymer molecule. These small units from which polymers are made are called Monomers.
The properties of polymers, which depend largely on the size of their molecules, are quite different from the properties of their monomers.
Polymers can be man-made (synthetic) or natural.
Examples of Natural Polymers are:
1. Protein
2. Carbohydrates
3. Fats
Examples of Synthetic Polymers are:
1. Polyethene (PE)
2. Polychloroethene or generally known as Polyvinylchloride (PVC) – shown in the image (PVC water pipes)
3. Polypropene (PP)
4. Polytetrafluoroethene (PTFE)
5. Terylene (a polyester)
6. Nylon (a polyamide)
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