An Introduction to Polymer Chemistry

Studying polymers is not just a subdiscipline of the chemical sciences, but the field of research has grown into an almost entirely new field that combines chemistry, engineering, physics and biology.

Poly(acrylic acid) The polymer is a long chain of multiple repeating units. We need to consider both the length and flexibility of the chain as well as the chemistry of the functional groups.

Here is a handy guide to polymer chemistry that you can use as a resource to help you understand how we make polymers, why we find them interesting and why they have come to dominate commercial and industrial processes.

Over the next few years we will create several mini tutorials which outline basic concepts in polymer science. If you want to learn more our team teaches this chemistry both at University and by distance learning, find out more ways to study and carry out your own original research with us.


Polymer Synthesis

Polymer Analysis