Polymer chemistry or macromolecular chemistry is a multidisciplinary science that deals with the

chemical synthesis and chemical properties of polymers or macromolecules. According to IUPAC

recommendations,[1][2] macromolecules refer to the individual molecular chains and are the
domain of chemistry. Polymers describe the bulk properties of polymer materials and belong to
the field of polymer physics as a subfield of physics.

Polymer chemistry is that branch of one,which deals with the study of synthesis and properties of
macromolecules. * Biopolymers produced by living organisms:
o structural proteins: collagen, keratin, elastin…
o chemically functional proteins: enzymes, hormones, transport proteins…
o structural polysaccharides: cellulose, chitin…
o storage polysaccharides: starch, glycogen…
o nucleic acids: DNA, RNA
* Synthetic polymers used for plastics—fibers, paints, building materials, furniture, mechanical
parts, adhesives:The work of Henri Braconnot in 1777 and the work of Christian Schönbein in
1846 led to the discovery of nitrocellulose, which, when treated with he need for an international
standard for chemistry was first addressed in 1860 by a committee headed by German scientist
Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz. This committee was the first international conference to
create an international naming system for organic compounds.[9] The ideas that were formulated
in that conference evolved into the official IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry.[9] The
IUPAC stands as a legacy of this meeting, making it one of the most important historical
international collaborations of chemistry societies.[9]camphor produced celluloid. Dissolved in
ether or acetone, it is collodion, used as a wound dressing since the U.S. Civil War. Cellulose
acetate was first prepared in 1865. In 1834, Friedrich Ludersdorf and Nathaniel Hayward
independently discovered that adding sulfur to raw natural rubber (polyisoprene) helped prevent
the material from becoming sticky. In 1844 Charles Goodyear received a U.S. patent for
vulcanizing rubber with sulfur and heat. Thomas Hancock had received a patent for the same
process in the UK the year before.

Polymers are formed by polymerization of monomers. A polymer is chemically described by its

degree of polymerisation, molar mass distribution, tacticity, copolymer distribution, the degree of
branching, by its end-groups, crosslinks, crystallinity and thermal properties such as its glass
transition temperature and melting temperature. Polymers in solution have special characteristics
with respect to solubility, viscosity and gelation.
definition of polymers
Polymers are large molecules composed of repeated chemical units. The smallest
repeating unit is called a mer. The term polymer is derived from the Greek words poly
and mers meaning "many parts." Linear polymers are like ropes. For a polymer chain of
10,000 units (a typical length), a standard half-inch-thick rope would be about 128 meters
(140 yards) long to represent the length-to-thickness ratio. Polymers are synthesized
naturally and artificially to perform a wide variety of specialized tasks.

Unsymmetrical reactants, such as substituted vinyl monomers, react almost exclusively to give
what are called "head-to-tail" products where the substituents occur on alternative carbon atoms:

Figure 5. –CH 2 –CHX–CH 2 –CHX–CH 2 –CHX–CH 2 –CHX–