http://www.ck12.org Chapter 25. Organic Chemistry
Important Synthetic Polymers
One widely used polymer is polystyrene:
FIGURE 25.31
Polystyrene structure.This polymer is used for many purposes. We find it in Styrofoam® packaging materials, plastic cutlery, CD “jewel
cases”, laboratory ware, and a wide variety of other applications. Polystyrene can take on many forms, depending
on how it is manufactured. It is inexpensive, easy to work with, and fairly durable.
Polyethylene can come in two forms. The low-density form is used for squeeze bottles, insulation for wiring, and
flexible pipes. The high-density form is employed in bottles, pipes, and plastic bags.
FIGURE 25.32
Repeating unit of polyethylene.Polyethylene has the simplest structure of all the polymers; it is essentially just a very long linear alkane. Its repeating
unit is shown in theFigure25.32.
Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon®) is very chemically inert and non-wettable –water does not stick to it. This polymer
has found broad applications in cookware because materials do not stick to it. Since it does not react with other
materials, Teflon storage containers are used to package highly reactive or corrosive chemicals.
FIGURE 25.33
Repeating unit of polytetrafluoroethylene.All of these polymers (and many more) are referred to as homopolymers, because they are composed of a single