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Chemistry classifies monomers by type, and two broad classes based on the type of polymer they form. By type: natural vs synthetic, e.g. glycine vs caprolactam, respectively; polar vs nonpolar, e.g. vinyl acetate vs ethylene, respectively; cyclic vs linear, e.g. ethylene oxide vs ethylene glycol, respectively; By type of polymer they form:
Polymer nomenclature is generally based upon the type of monomer residues comprising the polymer. A polymer which contains only a single type of repeat unit is known as a homopolymer, while a polymer containing two or more types of repeat units is known as a copolymer. [22] A terpolymer is a copolymer which contains three types of repeat units ...
A repeat unit is sometimes called a mer (or mer unit) in polymer chemistry. "Mer" originates from the Greek word meros, which means "a part". The word polymer derives its meaning from this, which means "many mers". A repeat unit (mer) is not to be confused with the term monomer, which refers to the small molecule from which a polymer is ...
Like other polymers, biopolymers consist of monomeric units that are covalently bonded in chains to form larger molecules. There are three main classes of biopolymers, classified according to the monomers used and the structure of the biopolymer formed: polynucleotides, polypeptides, and polysaccharides.
Other monomer units, such as formaldehyde hydrates or simple aldehydes, are able to polymerize themselves at quite low temperatures (ca. −80 °C) to form trimers; [3] molecules consisting of 3 monomer units, which can cyclize to form ring cyclic structures, or undergo further reactions to form tetramers, [3] or 4 monomer-unit compounds. Such ...
The degree of polymerization, or DP, is the number of monomeric units in a macromolecule or polymer or oligomer molecule. [1] [2] [3]For a homopolymer, there is only one type of monomeric unit and the number-average degree of polymerization is given by ¯ ¯ = ¯, where ¯ is the number-average molecular weight and is the molecular weight of the monomer unit.
Thus in the case of a functionality of f = 2 a linear polymer is formed by polymerizing (a thermoplastic). Monomers with a functionality f ≥ 3 lead to a branching point, which can lead to cross-linked polymers (a thermosetting polymer). Monofunctional monomers do not exist as such molecules lead to a chain termination. [6]
The units were joined by condensation of the carboxylic acid group –C(=O)OH of one monomer with the amine group H 2 N− of the next one. Some biologically important oligomers are macromolecules like proteins or nucleic acids; for instance, hemoglobin is a protein tetramer. An oligomer of amino acids is called an oligopeptide or just a peptide.