MatSE443 (previously PLMSE 406):
Introduction to the Materials Science of Polymers

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All paragraph and pages numbers refer to the primary text (Painter & Coleman)

Study Guide   (chapter 1)

Concepts that you must know:
  1. Definitions: polymer, monomer, homopolymer, copolymer, blends
  2. Molecule (monomer) Types: monofunctional, di-/tri-/tetra- functional etc,
    how can they react, can they form polymers
  3. Polymer Types: linear, graft, star, network
  4. *Isomerism: sequence isomers (types), stereoisomers, structural isomers
    (make sure you can explain in layman's terms the following: trans, cis, syndiotactic, isotactic, atactic)
  5. *Molecular Weight: definitions and usage of Mw, Mn, polydispersity
Exercises:
  1. *Go through the chemistry of dienes (pg. 11-13)
  2. *Go through the examples of Mw, Mn calculations (pg. 17-24)
  3. *Do "study question" 10 (pg. 25); make sure you can address 10c
    (you can use excel, or the interactive module below)
Interactive Module:
You need the latest plugin (Flash Player version 6) (which can be obtained free from here)
The files are extremely small (typically half a minute with a modem) and can be run directly from this web-page.


  • Go through cases 1,2, and 3. Comment on how the relative value of Mw and Mn depend on the shape of the molecular weight distribution. Comment on how the polydispersity depends on the shape of the molecular weight distribution.
  • Comment on how the absolute values of Mw and Mn depend on the "monomer weight". How do the relative values of Mw and Mn, and the polydispersity depend on the "monomer weight" ?