Polymerization
Polymerization is a process of reacting
monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form three-dimensional networks or
polymer chains
[1]. There are many forms of polymerization and different systems exist to categorize them.
The main categories are
*
Addition polymerization*
Condensation polymerizationTerminology in the literature to represent these types of polymerizations is not standard: there are multiple terms for the same type. For example, "step polymerization" and "step-growth polymerization" refer to the same type of polymerization.
Polymerization dates back to the beginning of
DNA based life, as both DNA and
proteins can be considered polymers. The first 'synthetic' polymers of the 19th century were actually formed by modifying natural polymers. For example
nitrocellulose was manufactured by reacting
cellulose with
nitric acid. The first genuinely man-made polymer, the phenol-formaldehyde resin
bakelite, was synthesized in 1872. However, research into polymers and polymerization only really accelerated in the 1930s after the serendipitous discovery of
polyethene by the chemical company
ICI.
*
Plasma polymerization*
Zieglar-Natta catalyst*
Metallocene*
[1] Introduction to Polymers 1987 R.J. Young Chapman & Hall ISBN 0-412-22170-5
