Name: Anmol Aggarwal

Student No.: s2038110

Email: a.aggarwal@student.utwente.nl

1. What is a difference between thermoplastics and thermosets?

Thermoplastics:

They get softened when heated and become more fluidic as more heat is provided. The process is reversible
due to weak forces of attraction between polymer chains. Hence the thermoplastics can be remolded and
recycled without adversely affecting the material’s physical properties. There are a variety of thermoplastic
resins that exhibit high strength, shrink-resistance and flexibility. Depending on the resin, thermoplastics
can provide low-stress applications such as plastic bags or high-stress mechanical parts. Examples of
thermoplastic polymers include polyethylene (PE), PVC, and nylon.

Advantages [1] Disadvantages [1]

Highly recyclable
High-Impact resistance
Reshaping capabilities
Chemical resistant
Aesthetically superior finishes
Expensive
They melt if heated, hence cannot be used in some
important applications

Thermosets:

They combine together during the curing process to form permanent and strong covalent cross-link bonds.
They greatly improve the material’s mechanical properties, providing enhanced chemical resistance, heat
resistance and structural integrity. They do not re-melt when heat is applied, making them ideal for high-
heat applications like appliances and electronics. Thermoset plastics are used for sealed products due to
their resistance to deformation and exhibit high impact resistance. Examples of thermoset polymers include
epoxies, phenolics, silicones, and polyesters.

Advantages [1] Disadvantages [1]

More resistant to high temperatures Difficult to recycle
Highly flexible design More difficult to surface finish
High levels of dimensional stability Can’t be remolded or reshaped
Cost-effective

[2]
3. Enumerate all the primary and secondary interactions. Describe them.
Polymers are held together as large molecules by covalent bonds, which are the primary interactions
between the polymer chains. At the same time, secondary interactions also exist between either the
separate molecules or non-neighboring segments of the same molecule. These molecules are attracted to
each other by intermolecular forces.

Primary Interactions:
Covalent bonding occurs when the pairs of electrons are shared by the atoms, which are in a fixed
orientation. The electronegativity of the atoms determines the extent of covalent bonding between them.
They can be single, double or triple depending on the number of electron pairs. The atoms are free to rotate
about single bonds, but they remain spatially fixed for double and triple bonds.

[3]

Secondary interactions:
They are weak interactions and valence electrons are not involved in the formation of secondary bonds.
They are of following types:
• Ion - Ion Interaction - Can be a very strong bond - even stronger then covalent bonds in some cases,
can be an attractive or a repulsive force, Non-directional force, Long range (1/r).
• Ion-Dipole Interaction - Directional forces, can be attractive or repulsive Medium range (1/r2),
significantly weaker then ion-ion interactions.
• Dipole-dipole forces - attractive forces between the positive end of one polar molecule and the
negative end of another polar molecule. They are much weaker than ionic or covalent bonds and
have a significant effect only when the molecules involved are close together.
• Hydrogen Bonding - This is the bond between a positively charged hydrogen atom and a small
electronegative atom like F, O, or N. Hydrogen bonds are relatively stronger than dipole bonds due
to the small size of the hydrogen ion. They occur between functional groups in the same or different
molecules.
• Van der Waals forces - Electrons are usually in constant motion about their nuclei. At any particular
instant, the centers of negative charge of the electrons cloud may not coincide with those of the
nuclei. Hence, induced dipoles exist even in nonpolar materials. If the orientations of fluctuating
dipoles in neighboring molecules are in proper alignment, intermolecular attractions occur. These
attractive forces are referred to as van der Waals (dispersion) forces. Van der Waals forces are
present in all molecules and they contribute significantly to the bonding in polymers.

Summary of Secondary interactions [4] Hydrogen Bonding [5]

5. Plot the specific volume as a function of temperature for glassy, semi-crystalline and crystalline
polymers. Describe the differences between the phases.

Crystalline Polymers Amorphous/Glassy polymers Semi – crystalline polymers

[7]
[6] [6]

They are characterized by Semi-crystalline polymers have both

When an amorphous polymer is
melting temperature. Melting amorphous and crystalline
heated, the temperature at
happens when the polymer regions. Amorphous portion
which it changes from a glass to
chains fall out of their crystal undergoes the glass transition and
the rubbery form is called
structures and become a the crystalline portion undergoes
the glass transition temperature,
disordered liquid. melting only.
Tg.
Below Tg : Immobile polymer chains.
Below Tg: Disordered amorphous
Below Tm: Polymer has
solid with immobile molecules. Between Tg and Tm: The polymer
ordered crystalline solid.
chains can move due to amorphous
Above Tg: Disordered amorphous nature.
Above Tm: Disordered melt is
solid in which portions of
obtained.
molecules can move around. Above Tm: The temperature at which
the crystals melt.

[8]
[8] [8]

References:

1) The Difference Between Thermoplastic and Thermosetting Plastic, Osborne Industries, Posted May 15,
2017.
2) Organic Materials Science Couse, Lecture 1, Slide 7.
3) Covalent Bonds, accessed at https://www.chemguide.co.uk/atoms/bonding/covalent.html on Nov 17,
2018.
4) Organic Materials Science Lecture 1, Slide 11.
5) Hydrogen bond : effect on physical properties, accessed at https://chemistryonline.guru/hydrogen-bond/
on Nov 17, 2018.
6) Polymer Chemistry: The Glass Transition, accessed at http://faculty.uscupstate.edu/llever/polymer
%20resources/glasstrans.htm on Nov 17, 2018.
7) Organic Materials Science Lecture 1, Slide 17.
8) Crystallinity and Filaments by Jack Robson, published on 01 August 2018.