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Theoretical considerations on the directionality in polymerization mechanism and polymer type
Author(s) -
Weegels Peter Louis
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
macromolecular theory and simulations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1521-3919
pISSN - 1022-1344
DOI - 10.1002/mats.1996.040050210
Subject(s) - directionality , polymer , monomer , polymerization , randomness , orientation (vector space) , degree of polymerization , head (geology) , materials science , polymer chemistry , polymer science , chemistry , chemical physics , geometry , mathematics , composite material , statistics , genetics , geomorphology , biology , geology
The directionality ( D n ) of a polymerization mechanism can be defined as the average orientation of the reaction or the degree of randomness of head‐to‐tail, head‐to‐head, tail‐to‐tail or tail‐to‐head reactions within the polymer at the n ‐th monomer or reaction ( n ≫ 2). Directionality of a polymer type can be defined as the average orientation inside a polymer. If the directionality is random, D n = 0.5. For full directionality, D n = 1. It is demonstrated that these situations correspond to step and chain polymerization, respectively. Directionality can be as important for the functional properties of polymers as length and composition distributions and the functionality of the original monomers.