CHEMISTRY ASSIGNMENT

PLASTICS

WHAT ARE PLASTICS?

A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs. Monomers of plastic are either natural or synthetic organic compounds.

TYPES OF PLASTICS

As you can see, we use plastics in our dayto-day life. The plastics we use are divided into two. They are Thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. These plastics are again divided in various forms. They are: Bakelite, Polyethene, Polyvinyl chloride, terelyne, Melamine, etc.

THERMOPLASTICS
Thermoplastic, also known as a thermo softening plastic,[1][2] is a polymer that turns to a liquid when heated and freezes to a very glassy state when cooled sufficiently. Most thermoplastics are high-molecularweight polymers whose chains associate through weak Van der Waals forces (polyethylene); stronger dipole-dipole interactions and hydrogen bonding (nylon);[3] or even stacking of aromatic rings (polystyrene). Continues

Thermoplastic polymers differ from thermosetting polymers (Bakelite) in that they can be remelted and remoulded. Many thermoplastic materials are addition polymers; e.g., vinyl chain-growth polymers such as polyethylene and polypropylene.

THERMOSETTING PLASTICS
A thermosetting plastic, also known as a thermo set, is polymer material that irreversibly cures. The cure may be done through heat (generally above 200 C (392 F)), through a chemical reaction (two-part epoxy, for example), or irradiation such as electron beam processing. Thermo set materials are usually liquid or malleable prior to curing and designed to be molded into their final form, or used as adhesives. Others are solids like that of the molding compound used in semiconductors and integrated circuits (IC). Continues

Thermo set materials are generally stronger than thermoplastic materials due to this 3-D network of bonds (cross-linking), and are also better suited to hightemperature applications up to the decomposition temperature. However, they are more brittle. Many thermosetting polymers are difficult to recycle. Once moulded, they can never be softened by heating.

POLYETHENE

Polyethylene or polythene (IUPAC name polyethene or poly(meth ylene) is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons.[1] Its primary use is within packaging (plastic bag, plastic films, geomembranes, etc.). Polyethylene is a thermoplastic polymer consisting of long chains produced by combing the ingredient monomer ethylene (IUPAC name ethene), the name comes from the ingredient and not the actual chemical resulting.

POLYETHENES ORIGIN
Polyethylene was first synthesized by the German chemist Hans von Pechmann who prepared it by accident in 1898 while heating diazomethane. When his colleagues Eugen Bamberger and Friedrich Tschirner characterized the white, waxy, substance that he had created they recognized that it contained long -CH2- chains and termed it polymethylene.