carbon-chain polymer

chemistry

Also known as: vinyl copolymer

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June 22, 2026

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Carbon-chain polymers are large molecules made from repeating smaller units called monomers, which contain carbon atoms linked together. Many common plastics, like polyethylene and polypropylene, are carbon-chain polymers formed from simple hydrocarbons such as ethylene and propylene. These polymers can have linear, branched, or network structures, which determine their physical properties. For example, linear polyethylene is tough, while branched polyethylene is flexible. The specific properties of a carbon-chain polymer depend on the structure of its monomer and how the monomers are linked. These materials are fundamental to many industries, including plastics, textiles, and packaging.1234

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plastic
The composition, structure, and properties of plastics
…polymers having only aliphatic (linear) carbon atoms in their backbone chains. All the commodity plastics listed above fall into this category. The structure of polypropylene can serve as an example; here attached to every other carbon atom is a pendant methyl group (CH₃):
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…polymers having only aliphatic (linear) carbon atoms in their backbone chains. All the commodity plastics listed above fall into this category. The structure of polypropylene can serve as an example; here attached to every other carbon atom is a pendant methyl group (CH₃):
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major industrial polymers
…composition, industrial polymers are either carbon-chain polymers (also called vinyls) or heterochain polymers (also called noncarbon-chain, or nonvinyls). In carbon-chain polymers, as the name implies, the backbones are composed of linkages between carbon atoms; in heterochain polymers a number of other elements are linked together in the backbones, including oxygen,…
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…composition, industrial polymers are either carbon-chain polymers (also called vinyls) or heterochain polymers (also called noncarbon-chain, or nonvinyls). In carbon-chain polymers, as the name implies, the backbones are composed of linkages between carbon atoms; in heterochain polymers a number of other elements are linked together in the backbones, including oxygen,…
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