M6S6 – Polymers

Which of these procedures is used on a large scale to recover some value from plastic waste?

(i) burning the plastic in incinerators and using the energy to generate electricity

(ii) re-melting the plastic and spinning the melt into fibres

(iii) heating the waste with catalysts but no air to produce feedstocks for the chemical industry

(iv) washing plastic bottles on high-speed automatic machines so that they can be reused.

Which of these factors can make it hard to recycle polymeric materials from domestic waste:

(i) much plastic waste consists of containers which have a very low density,

(ii) it is hard for householders to distinguish one plastic from another

(iii) the presence of pigments and fillers often contaminates the pure polymers

(iv) polymers are so similar that no automatic methods of separation are practicable.

Mixing poly(chloroethene) with a plasticiser makes is suitable for use as:

(i) window frames

(ii) insulation for electric cables

(iii) water pipes

(iv) waterproof clothing

Which of these characteristics of polymers accounts for the difference between low density and high density poly(ethene)?

[1] the average length of the polymer chains

[2] the type of intermolecular (interchain) forces

[3] the number and size of bulky side groups

[4] the extent of chain branching

Which of these repeat units gives rise to a polymer which is soluble in water:

Which of these polymers would you expect to have the strongest intermolecular (interchain) forces as a result of the presence of polar covalent bonds?

The monomer which polymerises to form a plastic which has a smooth, slippery surface and is used to give cooking utensils a non-stick surface is:

What is the repeat unit in the polymer formed from propene?

Which monomer polymerises to form this polymer?

---CH₂CHCl-CH₂CHCl-CH₂CHCl-CH₂CHCl---

The formation of a molecules of polythene from CH₂=CH₂ involves many thousands of: