# Vinyl polymer

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vinyl_polymer
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Vinyl_polymer.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_polymer
> Source revision: 1200022696
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

This article is about polymers derived from vinyl compounds. For other uses, see [Polyvinyl (disambiguation)](/source/Polyvinyl_(disambiguation)).

In [polymer chemistry](/source/Polymer_chemistry), **vinyl polymers** are a group of [polymers](/source/Polymer) derived from substituted [vinyl](/source/Vinyl_group) (H2C\dCHR) [monomers](/source/Monomer). Their [backbone](/source/Polymer_backbone) is an extended [alkane](/source/Alkane) chain [\sCH2\sCHR\s].[1] In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to [polyvinyl chloride](/source/Polyvinyl_chloride) (PVC).

## Examples

Vinyl polymers are the most common type of plastic. Important examples can be distinguished by the R group in the monomer H2C=CHR:

- [Polyethylene](/source/Polyethylene) R = H
- [polypropylene](/source/Polypropylene) from [propylene](/source/Propylene), R = CH3
- [Polystyrene](/source/Polystyrene) is made from [styrene](/source/Styrene), R = C6H5
- [Polyvinyl chloride](/source/Polyvinyl_chloride) (PVC) is made from [vinyl chloride](/source/Vinyl_chloride), R= Cl
- [Polyvinyl acetate](/source/Polyvinyl_acetate) (PVAc) is made from [vinyl acetate](/source/Vinyl_acetate), R = O2CCH3
- [Polyacrylonitrile](/source/Polyacrylonitrile) is made from [acrylonitrile](/source/Acrylonitrile), R = CN

## Production

Vinyl polymers are produced using catalysts. [Ziegler–Natta catalysts](/source/Ziegler%E2%80%93Natta_catalyst) are used commercially for production of polyethylene and polypropylene. Many are produced using radical initiators which are produced from [organic peroxides](/source/Organic_peroxide). Still others (polystyrene) are produced using anionic initiators such as [butyl lithium](/source/Butyl_lithium).

An exception from the usual rules, [polyvinyl alcohol](/source/Polyvinyl_alcohol), (CH2CHOH)n, is produced by hydrolysis of polyvinyl acetate. Vinyl alcohol is not sufficiently stable to undergo polymerization.

## Structure

Vinyl polymers are subject of several structural variations, which greatly expands the range of polymers and their applications.

With the exception of polyethylene, vinyl polymers can arise from head-to-tail linking of monomers, head-to-head combined with tail-to-tail, or a mixture of those two patterns. Additionally the substituted carbon center in such polymers is [stereogenic](/source/Stereogenic) (a "chiral center"), with the result that the relative [absolute configurations](/source/Absolute_configuration) of these centers within a polymer can influence the properties of the polymer. This feature is called [tacticity](/source/Tacticity). The polymerization conditions and the catalysts affect tacticity.

Another major variation for vinyl polymers arises from the copolymerization of differing vinyl monomers. The simplest example is ethylene-propylene copolymer. The % [comonomer](/source/Comonomer) is yet another variation.

## See also

- [Acrylate polymer](/source/Acrylate_polymer)

## References

1. Kenneth S. Whiteley; T. Geoffrey Heggs; Hartmut Koch; Ralph L. Mawer; Wolfgang Immel (2005). "Polyolefins". *Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry*. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. [doi:10.1002/14356007.a21_487](https://doi.org/10.1002/14356007.a21_487). ISBN 3-527-30673-0.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Vinyl polymer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_polymer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_polymer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.