Polymer: A polymer is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules, or macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic and natural polymers play essential and ubiquitous roles in everyday life. Examples of synthetic polymers include nylon, polyethylene, polyester, Teflon, and epoxy. Natural polymers occur in nature and can be extracted.
Some of the useful properties of various engineering polymers are high strength or modulus to weight ratios (lightweight but comparatively stiff and strong), toughness, resilience, resistance to corrosion, lack of conductivity (heat and electrical), color, transparency, processing, and low cost.
There are three types of classification under this category, namely, Natural, Synthetic, and Semi-synthetic Polymers.
Polymers are formed by two main ways called addition and condensation polymerization. In addition, polymerization, an initiator (or catalyst) reacts with a starting monomer.
The most common way of classifying polymers is to separate them into three groups – thermoplastics, thermosets, and elastomers.
The three most common types of synthetic organic polymers, which are commonly found in households are
1. Polypropylene (PP)
2. Polystyrene (PS)
3. Polyethylene (PE)