Additionpolymer

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Anadditionpolymerisapolymerwhichisformedbyanadditionreaction,wheremanymonomersbond
togetherviarearrangementofbondswithoutthelossofanyatomormoleculeunderspecificconditionofheat,
pressure,catalyst.Thisisincontrasttoacondensationpolymerwhichisformedbyacondensationreaction
whereamolecule,usuallywater,islostduringtheformation.

Contents
1
2
3
4
5

Formation
Contrastwithcondensationpolymers
History
Seealso
References

Formation
Anadditionpolymerisformedbyareactionknownaspolyadditionoradditionpolymerization.Thiscanoccur
inavarietyofwaysincludingfreeradicalpolymerization,cationicpolymerization,anionicpolymerizationand
coordinationpolymerization.
Mostofthecommonadditionpolymersareformedfromunsaturatedmonomers(usuallyhavingadouble
bond).[1]Thisincludespolyethenes,polypropylene,PVC,Teflon,Bunarubbers,polyacrylates,polystyrene,and
PCTFE.Additionpolymersarealsoformedfrommonomersthathaveaclosedring.Throughcoordination
polymerization,evensaturatedmonomerscanformadditionpolymers.
Whentwoormoretypesofmonomerundergoadditionpolymerization,thepolymerformedisknownasan
additioncopolymer.Saranwrap,formedfrompolymerizationofvinylchlorideandvinylidenechloride,isan
additioncopolymer.[2]

Contrastwithcondensationpolymers
Withexceptionofcombustion,thebackboneofadditionpolymersaregenerallychemicallyinert.[3]Thisisdue
totheverystrongCCandCHbondsandlackofpolarisationwithinmanyadditionpolymers.Forthisreason
theyarenonbiodegradableandhardtorecycle.Thisis,again,incontrasttocondensationpolymerswhichare
biodegradableandcanberecycled.
Manyexceptionstothisruleareproductsofringopeningpolymerization,whichtendstoproduce
condensationlikepolymerseventhoughitisanadditiveprocess.Forexample,poly[ethyleneoxide]is
chemicallyidenticaltopolyethyleneglycolexceptthatitisformedbyopeningethyleneoxideringsratherthan
eliminatingwaterfromethyleneglycol.Nylon6wasdevelopedtothwartthepatentonnylon6,6,andwhileit
doeshaveaslightlydifferentstructure,itsmechanicalpropertiesareremarkablysimilartoitscondensation
counterpart.
Oneuniversaldistinctionbetweenpolymerizationtypesisdevelopmentofmolecularweightbythedifferent
modesofpropagation.Additionpolymersformhighmolecularweightchainsrapidly,withmuchmonomer
remaining.Sinceadditionpolymerizationhasrapidlygrowingchainsandfreemonomerasitsreactants,and
condensationpolymerizationoccursinstepwisefashionbetweenmonomers,dimers,andothersmaller

growingchains,theeffectofapolymermolecule'scurrentsizeonacontinuingreactionisprofoundlydifferent
inthesetwocases.Thishasimportanteffectsonthedistributionofmolecularweights,orpolydispersity,inthe
finishedpolymer.

History
Thefirstusefuladditionpolymerwasmadebyaccidentin1933byICIchemistsReginaldGibsonandEric
Fawcett.Theywerecarryingoutaseriesofexperimentswhichinvolvedreactingorganiccompoundsunder
hightemperaturesandhighpressures.Theysetupanexperimenttoreactethenewithbenzaldehydeinthehope
ofproducingaketone.Theyleftthereactionvesselovernight,andthenextmorningtheyfoundasmallamount
ofawhitewaxysolid.Itwasshownlaterthatthissolidwaspolyethylene.

Seealso
Condensationpolymer

References
1."AdditionPolymers".RetrievedJuly17,2012.
2.H.StephenStoker(1January2012).OrganicandBiologicalChemistry.CengageLearning.p.65.ISBN9781133
103950.Retrieved17July2012.
3.Keogh,PhilipL.,JayF.Kunzler,andGregoryCCNiu."Hydrolyticallystable,biologicallyinert,transparent."U.S.
PatentNo.4,259,467.31Mar.1981.

PaulJ.Flory(1953).PrinciplesofPolymerChemistry.CornellUniversityPress.p.51.ISBN9780
801401343.Retrieved17July2012.
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