Question

The monomer of a polymer has two ‘double bonds’. Empirical formula of the monomer is

C4H6. Write down the structure of the monomer. If the Polymer molecular weight is 108000,
what will be the ‘Degree of Polymerization’ of the polymer.

Answer 1

The structure of the monomer with empirical formula C4H6 and two double bonds can be represented as follows:

H2C=CH-CH=CH2

The degree of polymerization (DP) is defined as the number of monomer units in a polymer chain. If the polymer molecular weight is 108000, the DP can be calculated as follows:

DP = Molecular weight of polymer / Molecular weight of monomer

DP = 108000 / (12 + 6 + 14)

DP = 108000 / 32

DP = 3375

Therefore, the degree of polymerization of the polymer is 3375.