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 2)
Concepts that you must know (all polymer syntheses methods are defined in this chapter):
Step-Growth Polymerization (or Poly-Condensation): general method,
how/when polymer is formed, what type/size of molecules exist in the
reactor (in the beggining, middle, and end of reaction). Examples:
dicarboxyls + dialcohols, dicarboxyls + diamines, diisocynade + dialcohols.
Examples: polyesters, polyamides (nylon 6; nylon 6,6), polyurethanes. Is
"stoichiometry" important, why?
Chain Polymerization (or Addition Polymerization): general
method, how/when polymer is formed, what type/size of molecules exist in
the reactor (in the beggining, middle, and end of reaction). Examples:
free radical, anionic, cationic, and coordination reactions. The three
stages: initiation, propagation, termination.
What is: free radical, batch/continuous process, living polymerization
Principles (compare & contrast): suspension vs. emulsion polymerization
Exercises:
none at this stage, all the above will be used and quantified in
detail in the following three chapters.
