Common Examples And Applications Of Copolymers.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS):

 Chemical formula (C8H8)x·(C4H6)y·(C3H3N)z) is a common thermoplastic polymer.
 Its glass transition temperature is approximately 105 °C (221 °F). ABS is amorphous and
therefore has no true melting point.
 ABS is a terpolymer made by polymerizing styrene and acrylonitrile in the presence
of polybutadiene. The proportions can vary from 15 to 35% acrylonitrile, 5 to
30% butadiene and 40 to 60% styrene.
 The result is a long chain of polybutadiene criss-crossed with shorter chains of poly
(styrene-co-acrylonitrile).
 The nitrile groups from neighboring chains, being polar, attract each other and bind the
chains together, making ABS stronger than pure polystyrene.
 The styrene gives the plastic a shiny, impervious surface. The polybutadiene,
a rubbery substance, provides toughness even at low temperatures.
 For the majority of applications, ABS can be used between −20 and 80 °C (−4 and
176 °F) as its mechanical properties vary with temperature.
 The properties are created by rubber toughening, where fine particles of elastomer are
distributed throughout the rigid matrix

Properties:
 The most important mechanical properties of ABS are impact resistance and toughness.
A variety of modifications can be made to improve impact resistance, toughness, and heat
resistance.
 The impact resistance can be amplified by increasing the proportions of polybutadiene in
relation to styrene and also acrylonitrile, although this causes changes in other properties.
Impact resistance does not fall off rapidly at lower temperatures.
 Stability under load is excellent with limited loads. Thus, by changing the proportions of
its components, ABS can be prepared in different grades.
 Two major categories could be ABS for extrusion and ABS for injection moulding, then
high and medium impact resistance.
  Generally ABS would have useful characteristics within a temperature range from −20 to
80 °C (−4 to 176 °F).
 Even though ABS plastics are used largely for mechanical purposes, they also have
electrical properties that are fairly constant over a wide range of frequencies.
 These properties are little affected by temperature and atmospheric humidity in the
acceptable operating range of temperatures.
Styrene-butadiene rubber:

 Styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) describes families of synthetic rubbers derived

from styrene and butadiene.
 These materials have good abrasion resistance and good aging stability when protected
by additives.
 The styrene/butadiene ratio influences the properties of the polymer: with high styrene
content, the rubbers are harder and less rubbery.
 SBR is not to be confused with the thermoplastic elastomer, styrene-butadiene block
copolymer, albeit being derived from the same monomers

Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR):

 Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) is a family of unsaturated copolymers of 2-
propenenitrile and various butadiene monomers (1,2-butadiene and 1,3-butadiene).
 Although its physical and chemical properties vary depending on the polymer’s
composition of nitrile, this form of synthetic rubber is unusual in being generally resistant
to oil, fuel, and other chemicals (the more nitrile within the polymer, the higher the
resistance to oils but the lower the flexibility of the material).
Properties:
 It is used in the automotive and aeronautical industry to make fuel and oil handling hoses,
seals, grommets, and self-sealing fuel tanks, since ordinary rubbers cannot be used.
 It is used in the nuclear industry to make protective gloves. NBR's ability to withstand a
range of temperatures from −40 to 108 °C (−40 to 226 °F) makes it an ideal material for
aeronautical applications.
 Nitrile butadiene is also used to create moulded goods, footwear, adhesives, sealants,
sponges, expanded foams, and floor mats.
Applications:
 Its resilience makes NBR a useful material for disposable lab, cleaning, and examination
gloves.
 Nitrile rubber is more resistant than natural rubber to oils and acids, and has superior
strength, but has inferior flexibility.
 Nitrile gloves are therefore more puncture-resistant than natural rubber gloves, especially
if the latter are degraded by exposure to chemicals or ozone.
 Nitrile rubber is less likely to cause an allergic reaction than natural rubber.
Styrene acrylonitrile resin:
 Styrene acrylonitrile resin is a copolymer plastic consisting of styrene and acrylonitrile. It
is also known as SAN.
 It is widely used in place of polystyrene owing to its greater thermal resistance. The
chains of the polymer show alternating repeat units of styrene and acrylonitrile, and it is
a copolymer.
 The relative composition is typically between 70 and 80% by weight styrene and 20 to
30% acrylonitrile. Larger acrylonitrile content improves mechanical properties and
chemical resistance, but also adds a yellow tint to the normally transparent plastic
Properties:
 SAN is similar in use to polystyrene. Like polystyrene itself, it is optically transparent
and brittle in mechanical behavior.
 The copolymer has a glass transition temperature greater than 100 °C owing to
the acrylonitrile units in the chain, thus making the material resistant to boiling water.
 It is structurally related to ABS plastic, where polybutadiene is copolymerised with SAN
to give a much tougher material.
 The rubber chains form separate phases which are 10-20 micrometers in diameter. When
the product is stressed, crazing from the particles helps to increase the strength of the
polymer.
Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA),

 Ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), also known as poly (ethylene-vinyl acetate) (PEVA), is

the copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate.
 The weight percent of vinyl acetate usually varies from 10 to 40%, with the remainder
being ethylene.

 The EVA copolymer which is based on a high proportion of VA (greater than 60%) is
referred to as ethylene-vinyl acetate rubber.
 EVA is one of the materials popularly known as expanded rubber or foam rubber.
 EVA is an elastomeric polymer that produces materials which are "rubber-like" in
softness and flexibility.
 The material has good clarity and gloss, low-temperature toughness, stress-crack
resistance, hot-melt adhesive waterproof properties, and resistance to UV radiation.
 EVA has a distinctive vinegar-like odor and is competitive with rubber and vinyl
polymer products in many electrical applications.

Applications:
 Hot melt adhesives (such as hot glue sticks) and top-of-the line soccer cleats are usually
made from EVA, generally with additives like wax and resin.
 EVA is also used as a clinginess-enhancing additive in plastic wraps. Craft-foam sheets
are made of EVA and are popularly used for children's foam stickers.
 EVA is also used in biomedical engineering applications as a drug-delivery device. The
polymer is dissolved in an organic solvent (such as dichloromethane).
 Powdered drug and filler (typically an inert sugar) are added to the liquid solution and
rapidly mixed to obtain a homogeneous mixture.
 The drug-filler-polymer mixture is then cast into a mold at −80 °C and freeze-dried until
solid. These devices are used in drug delivery research to slowly release a compound.
The polymer does not biodegrade within the body, but is quite inert and causes little or no
reaction following implantation.

Some Useful Copolymers

Monomer A Monomer B Copolymer Uses

H2C=CHCl H2C=CCl2 Saran films & fibers
SBR
H2C=CHC6H5 H2C=C-CH=CH2 styrene butadiene tires
rubber
adhesives
H2C=CHCN H2C=C-CH=CH2 Nitrile Rubber
hoses
H2C=C(CH3)2 H2C=C-CH=CH2 Butyl Rubber inner tubes
F2C=CF(CF3) H2C=CHF Viton gaskets