Designer Polymers

DP1 Designer Polymers

Photoconductive polymers

  • Polyvinyl carbazole conducts electricity much better when light shines on it
  • This photoconductivity can be used to make an image in a photocopier
  • Light is reflected of a picture.  Dark patches reflect no light and light patches reflect most of the light
  • Mirrors direct this reflected light onto a positively charged polyvinyl carbazole-coated drum
  • Where light strikes the drum, positive charge is eliminated.  An image of the picture is made of areas of positive charge and areas of no charge
  • Negatively charged toner is applied to the drum and only sticks to the areas that have not been exposed to light
  • Paper is passed around the drum, with a charge from below attracting toner to the paper from the drum
  • Hot rollers fuse the toner pattern to the paper

DP2 The invention of nylon

Photoconductive polymers

 

 

Assignment 1

a  Name the nylons which contain the following repeating units

 

          i            –HN-(CH2)6-NHCO-(CH2)6-CO-     Nylon-6,8

 

        ii            –HN-(CH2)9-NHCO-(CH2)7-CO-     Nylon-9,9

 

      iii            –HN-(CH2)4-NHCO-(CH2)2-CO-     Nylon-4,4

 

b  Write out the repeating units and give the names for the polymers formed from the following molecules:

 

          i            HOOC(CH2)5NH2

 

–(CO– (CH2)5–NH)n–

nylon-6

 

        ii            H2N(CH2)5NH2 and HOOC(CH2)5COOH   

 

–(NH– (CH2)5–NH–CO–(CH2)5CO)n–

nylon-5,7

 

c  Nylon-5,10 can be formed by the reaction of a diamine with a diacyl chloride.

 

          i            Write down the structures of the two monomers.

 

H2N(CH2)5) NH2 and ClCO(CH2)8COCl

 

        ii            What small molecule is lost when the monomers react?

 

Hydrogen chloride, HCl.

 

      iii            Draw the structure of the repeating unit in nylon-5,10.