Polymerisation

Could someone care to explain condensation polymers?

i may be wrong but i think it is when an alcohol and a carboxylic acid react with one another.
They form an ester link to one another.

The OH functional group of carboxylic acids react with a H atom from the Alcohol This forms H20.

Reply 2

_Dirac_

Original post by fffggghhh

Not necessarily just alcohols and carboxylic acids form condensation polymers (polystyrene), Amine function group and carboxyljc acid functional group form polyamide (another condensation polymer)

Reply 3

nzy

Unlike addition polymerization condensation polymerization occurs between two different monomers with different functional groups - like an alcohol and carboxylic acid to form an ester. As well as the polymer that is formed, condensation polymerization also forms another small molecule (usually water), from atoms that are 'ejected' from the end of the monomers so they can join together (think of snipping off the end of each monomer so you can stick them together, whereas in addition polymerization between two unsaturated alkenes, there are double bonds that can open up to join to the adjacent monomer instead).
Polypeptides and proteins are also condensation polymers that are formed from amino acids. In this case there is only one type of monomer, but on the opposite ends of the same amino acid are different functional groups.

(edited 5 years ago)

What's a diol?

At AS level we learnt that it was just alkenes bonding together which breaks their double bond to form water and a polymer

Reply 6

sparks01

Original post by purple.blue27

What's a diol?

An alcohol with two OH groups

Reply 7

purple.blue27

So when doing the equation in the form of a diagram do you just take of an -OH and a H from both reactants?

Reply 8

b_xv12

Original post by purple.blue27

So when doing the equation in the form of a diagram do you just take of an -OH and a H from both reactants?

yeah and that's why one of the products is a water molecule

Reply 9

purple.blue27

Original post by b_xv12

yeah and that's why one of the products is a water molecule

But then how do you know which reactant to take the -OH and H from?

Reply 10

GCSE2018K

hi I know what all this condensation polymers mean and how they form I was just wondering and worried about if you have to draw them forming cuz I don't get any part of that

Reply 11

Psaa

What are the sorts of questions they could ask about this?

Reply 12

b_xv12

Original post by purple.blue27

But then how do you know which reactant to take the -OH and H from?

You take the OH off the end of the dicarboxylic acid and the H off the start of the diol

polyesters-01.png18.1KB

Reply 13

b_xv12

Original post by Psaa

What are the sorts of questions they could ask about this?

A popular question seems to be explaining the differences between addition polymerisation and condensation polymerisation.

Reply 14

purple.blue27

Do we have to name the substance formed at the end of the reaction?

Reply 15

anonymous121121

Original post by purple.blue27

Could someone care to explain condensation polymers?

lol i was just revising this. ik its very confusing.

Reply 16

purple.blue27

Original post by anonymous121121

lol i was just revising this. ik its very confusing.

When you haven't done it in class, it's worser when it comes to revision. It just gets a whole load more confusing when you don't know anything like esters and stuff. And that's what codensation polymers builds on