Importance of Polymers

In the field of science, polymers are very important substances because they can have several and very diverse uses in daily life. Polymers can be described as composite substances in which various molecules are intermingled. of monomers forming heavier molecules that can be found in various objects and elements natural. Polymers can also be artificial or man-made when natural polymers are transformed (examples of this are synthetic textiles such as nylon).

We could simplify the composition of a polymer by saying that it is a union of thousands of molecules known as monomers (smaller and less heavy molecules). These monomers are joined through chemical bonds that give them stability and that makes them remain as more complex molecules or polymers. The word polymers comes from the Greek, a language in which the prefix cop means many and the suffix Mere means part.

In the nature We find many elements that can be considered polymers, ranging from elements present in the feeding (such as starch, cellulose) to textile elements (nylon, although it is a polymer resulting from the alteration of natural polymers, or silk) and even the DNA that each living being has. Polymers can be formed basically by two processes: by condensation of several molecules of monomers or by the addition that supposes a sum of all the molecules of monomers that are multiply.

The importance of polymers resides especially in the variety of utilities that the human being can give these compounds. Thus, polymers are present in many of the foods or raw materials we consume, but also in textiles (even being able to become synthetic polymers from the transformation of others), in electricity, in materials used for the construction like rubber, plastic and other everyday materials such as polystyrene, polyethylene, chemical products such as chlorine, silicone, etc. All these materials are used for different reasons, since they provide different properties to each use: elasticity, plasticity, they can be adhesives, resistance to damage, etc.