What are Plastics?

[Guest Candydoll]

Plasticsare the synthetic polymers of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, derived frompetrochemicals. The two main types of plastics are thermoplastics andthermosets. A large variety of petroleum-based synthetic polymers are producedworldwide to the extent of approximately 140 million tons per year.

[Blahah]

err... are you asking a question, or did you just post all the information you required (with occasional spaces missing)?

[Horza2002]

There are many more classes of polymers than just those two...and it does depend on how you want to class a polymer. If you go with physical properties then thermoplastics and thermosets are good catergories; if you go by composition then you can copolymers, monopolymers; if you go how the polymer was formed you can have radical, living polymerisation, anionic, metathesis; you could also class them according to their functional groups poly-esters, poly-amides, poly-sulphonamids etc.

 

It all simply depends on what you want to class them into

[Blossom]

i agree with Horza2002. plastics are xenobiotic compounds and now days used every where around us.

[John Cuthber]

"Plasticsare the synthetic polymers"

Nope, not all of them are synthetic.

"of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen"

Not entirely.

"derived frompetrochemicals"

except for those that are not.

 

And so on.

[mississippichem]

"Plasticsare the synthetic polymers"

Nope, not all of them are synthetic.

"of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen"

Not entirely.

"derived frompetrochemicals"

except for those that are not.

 

And so on.

 

There are many varieties of inorganic polymers such as poly-siloxanes (perhaps the most boring chemistry possible), or poly-titanocene. I go to a school with a large materials chemistry department so I get forced into listening to boring polymer chemistry seminars .

[Horza2002]

Yes, most commonly, plastics are made of carbon, hydorgen and oxygen...however there are a great many that don't. Sulphur and silicon are good examples....there are also examples of metal containing polymers (e.ge. some new antibacterial polymers that have silver ions as part of their structure)....polymer chemistry is MASSIVE and incredably diverse...

 

Thinking about it, you can pretty much make any polymer you want. All you need is a compound that has at least two functional groups (either the same or different) and the right reaction conditions.