Question

Polymers that have very different applications often have properties that are very similar. The polymers for soda bottles (polyethylene), plastic pipes (PVC) and Saran® wrap are all very different in strength and flexibility. Research the polymer structure of each of these products and explain how they are similar on a molecular level. Please no hand written answers and at least 150 words

Answer 1

Ans :- Let us first start with polyethylene.polyethylene is a thermoplastic polymer and it is obtained by polymerization of ethylene molecule.Generally soda bottles are high density polyethylene and as the name suggest ,it has a very high density and a rigid structure.It is a homopolymer which contains a single monomer.It has no branching and that is why this property of polyethylene makes it strong. Since it is a thermoplastic polymer,it can be moulded and recycled into different shapes.

Now PVC(polyvinyl chloride) is formed by the polymerization of vinyl chloride which is a monomer.It is also a thermoplastic polymer which can be moulded and recycled again.It is very flexible as compared to polyethylene and hence it is used in making pipes.Since chlorine is one of the main component so it is environmental friendly and does not catches fire easily as chlorine stops combustion.In PVC structure the hydrogen atom are replaced by chlorine atom and it is attached to every other carbon atom.

Saran wrap also known as PVDC(polyvinyldiene chloride) is obtained by polymerization of vinyldiene chloride.It is generally used for wrapping of food materials because it has the ability to protect the food material from outside agents that can damage the food.It is also a thermoplastic polymer but is more rigid in molecular structure due to presence of copolymer vinyldiene.