Synthetic polymer

Synthetic polymers are often referred to as "plastics", such as the well-known polyethylene and nylon. However, most of them can be classified in at least three main categories: thermoplastics, thermosets and elastomers.

Man-made polymers are used in a wide array of applications: food packaging, films, fibers, tubing, pipes, etc. The personal care industry also uses polymers to aid in texture of products, binding, and moisture retention (e.g. in hair gel and conditioners).

[edit] Examples

A non-exhaustive list of these ubiquitous materials includes:

• acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
• polyamide (PA)
• polybutadiene
• poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)
• polycarbonate (PC)
• poly(ether sulphone) (PES, PES/PEES)
• poly(ether ether ketone)s (PEEK, PES/PEEK)
• polyethylene (PE)
• poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)
• poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)
• polyimide
• polypropylene (PP)
• polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
• polystyrene (PS)
• styrene acrylonitrile (SAN)
• poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT)
• polyurethane (PU)
• polyvinylchloride (PVC)
• polyvinylidenedifluoride (PVDF)
• poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP)

[edit] Brand names

These polymers are often better known through their brand names, for instance:

• Kevlar, Twaron, e.g. para-aramid
• Technora, e.g. copolyamid
• Kynar, e.g. PVDF
• Mylar, e.g. polyethylene terephthalate film
• Nylon, e.g. polyamide 6,6
• Rilsan, e.g. polyamide 11 & 12
• Teflon, e.g. PTFE
• Ultem, e.g. polyimide
• Vectran, aromatic polyamide
• Viton, e.g. poly-tetrafluoroethylene
• Zylon, e.g. poly-p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole (PBO)

[edit] See also

• Polymerization
• Radical polymerization
• RAFT (chemistry)