The polymer it's a chemical compound that has a high molecular mass and is obtained through a polymerization process. Meanwhile, polymerization consists of union of several molecules of a compound from heat, light or a catalyst, with the mission of forming a multi-link chain of molecules and so then get a macromolecule. Among the best known natural polymers are: DNA, silk, starch and cellulose and among the synthetics: polyethylene, bakelite and nylon.
There are two types of polymerization: condensation polymerization (in each union of the monomersWith smaller molecules, a small molecule is lost, as a consequence of this the molecular mass of the polymer will not be an exact multiple of the molecular mass of the monomer. These in turn are divided into homopolymer and copolymers) and addition polymerization (In this case, the molecular mass of the polymer is an exact multiple of the molecular mass of the monomer and they usually observe a process composed of three phases: initiation, propagation and termination).
It should be noted that polymers can be linear, that is, they can be made up of a single chain of monomers, or failing that, said chain can have larger or smaller branches, likewise, there can be crosslinks caused by the bond between atoms of different chains.
Among the properties of polymers are: photoconductivity, electrochromism and photoluminescence.
As established by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), the general principle that governs when naming polymers is the use of the prefix cop followed by the repeating structural unit. For instance: polymethylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, among others.
