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Macromolecular Chemistry: History
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Subjects: Chemistry, Organic
Contributor: Yu Peng

Macromolecular chemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the molecular constitution, synthesis, stereochemistry, transformation, and structural characterization of macromolecules and polymeric substances. A macromolecule is a molecule of high relative molecular mass whose structure substantially comprises multiple repetitions of units derived, actually or conceptually, from molecules of lower relative molecular mass, while a polymer is a substance composed of macromolecules [1]. The chemical description of a macromolecular system encompasses monomer-derived constitutional units, covalent connectivity, degree of polymerization, molar-mass distribution, chain-end structure, comonomer sequence, branching, crosslinking, molecular topology, and stereochemical organization such as tacticity [1][2]. Macromolecular chemistry also encompasses the chemical reactions by which these structural features are established or transformed, including chain-growth, step-growth, ring-opening, and other polymerization processes and subsequent reactions of polymer chains [2][3]. Its defining scope therefore centers on the relationship between molecular synthesis, repeated-unit constitution, chain architecture, stereochemical arrangement, and the chemical identity of high-molar-mass molecular systems [1][2][3].

  • Macromolecule
  • polymer chemistry
  • polymerization
  • stereochemistry

🔵 Chemistry and Stereochemistry Studies • 🟣 Organic Chemistry • 🟡 Chemistry • 🔴 Physical Sciences

References

  1. A. D. Jenkins; P. Kratochvíl; R. F. T. Stepto; U. W. Suter; Glossary of Basic Terms in Polymer Science (IUPAC Recommendations 1996). Pure Appl. Chem. 1996, 68, 2287-2311, 10.1351/pac199668122287.
  2. George Odian. Principles of Polymerization; Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, United States, 2004. [CrossRef]
  3. H. Staudinger; Über Polymerisation. Berichte der Dtsch. Chem. Ges. (A B Series) 1920, 53, 1073-1085, 10.1002/cber.19200530627.
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