What are polymer materials?

What are polymer materials?

Polymer materials are materials composed of compounds with relatively high molecular weights. Many natural materials we come into contact with are usually composed of polymer materials, such as natural rubber, cotton, human organs and so on. The same is true for synthetic chemical fibers, plastics, and rubber. Generally speaking, polymers that are widely used in daily life and have formed an industrial production scale are general-purpose polymer materials, and those with special uses and functions are called functional polymers.

Extended information

The structure of a polymer material determines its performance, and the control and modification of the structure can obtain polymer materials with different characteristics. The unique structure of polymer materials and the characteristics of easy modification and processing make them have incomparable and irreplaceable excellent properties of other materials, so they are widely used in various fields of science and technology, national defense construction and national economy, and have become a part of modern social life. Indispensable materials in all aspects of basic necessities of life.

Polymer refers to a class of organic compounds with a large relative molecular mass, which can reach thousands or even millions. They are structurally composed of many simple and identical structural units called chain links (monomers), which are repeatedly connected by chemical bonds. Macromolecules are also called high polymers or polymers.

The molecules of high-molecular compounds (also known as high polymers) are much larger than those of low-molecular organic compounds. The relative molecular mass of general organic compounds does not exceed 1000, while the relative molecular mass of polymer compounds can be as high as 1.04-1.06 million. Due to the large relative molecular mass of high molecular compounds, they are very different from low molecular compounds in terms of physical, chemical and mechanical properties.

Although the relative molecular mass of polymer compounds is large, their composition is not complex, and their molecules are often composed of specific structural units connected repeatedly through covalent bonds.

The number of links contained in the molecular chain of the same polymer compound is not the same, so the polymer compound is essentially composed of many links with the same structure.