Category: Inorganic compounds

Anhydride, any chemical compound obtained, either in practice or in principle, by the elimination of water from another compound. Examples of inorganic anhydrides are sulfur trioxide, SO3, which is derived from sulfuric acid, and calcium oxide, CaO, derived from calcium hydroxide. Sulfur trioxide and other oxides formed by the removal of water from an acid are often called acid anhydrides, whereas those such as…

Tungsten carbide, an important member of the class of inorganic compounds of carbon, used alone or with 6 to 20 percent of other metals to impart hardness to cast iron, cutting edges of saws and drills, and penetrating cores of armour-piercing projectiles. Tungsten carbide is a dense, metallike substance, light gray with a bluish tinge, that decomposes, rather than melts, at 2,600° C…

Sulfate, any of numerous chemical compounds related to sulfuric acid, H2SO4. One group of these derivatives is composed of salts containing the sulfate ion, SO42-, and positively charged ions such as those of sodium, magnesium, or ammonium; a second group is composed of esters, in which the hydrogen atoms of sulfuric acid have been replaced by carbon-containing combining…

The study of such materials lies within the domain of polymer chemistry. The investigation of natural polymers overlaps considerably with biochemistry, but the synthesis of new polymers, the investigation of polymerization processes, and the characterization of the structure and properties of polymeric materials all pose unique problems for polymer chemists. Polymer chemists have designed and synthesized polymers that…

Synthetic polymers are produced in different types of reactions. Many simple hydrocarbons, such as ethylene and propylene, can be transformed into polymers by adding one monomer after another to the growing chain. Polyethylene, composed of repeating ethylene monomers, is an addition polymer. It may have as many as 10,000 monomers joined in long coiled chains. Polyethylene is crystalline, translucent, and thermoplastic—i.e., it softens…

Organic polymers play a crucial role in living things, providing basic structural materials and participating in vital life processes. For example, the solid parts of all plants are made up of polymers. These include cellulose, lignin, and various resins. Cellulose is a polysaccharide, a polymer that is composed of sugar molecules. Lignin consists of a complicated three-dimensional network of polymers. Wood resins…

The word polymer designates an unspecified number of monomer units. When the number of monomers is very large, the compound is sometimes called a high polymer. Polymers are not restricted to monomers of the same chemical composition or molecular weight and structure. Some natural polymers are composed of one kind of monomer. Most natural and synthetic polymers, however, are made up of two or more…

Natural polymers include proteins, which are polymers of amino acids, and nucleic acids, which are polymers of nucleotides—complex molecules composed of nitrogen-containing bases, sugars, and phosphoric acid. Starches, an important source of food energy derived from plants, are natural polymers composed of glucose.

Organic polymers play a crucial role in living things, providing basic structural materials and participating in vital life processes. For example, the solid parts of all plants are composed of polymers. These include cellulose, lignin, and various resins.

A polymer is any of a class of natural or synthetic substances composed of very large molecules, called macromolecules, which are multiples of simpler chemical units called monomers. Polymers make up many of the materials in living organisms and are the basis of many minerals and man-made materials.