Abstract
We have already described the solvent-solute structure in aqueous solutions of small polar and non-polar molecules. The view of the disturbance of the normal hexagonal structure of liquid water by these small solutes can serve as a model for solutions of macromolecules, which, to a reasonable approximation, may be treated as a chain of small solute molecules attached to each other. Such molecules are polymers. Polymers of a single component or monomer are called homopolymers (A n ). Copolymers are composed of two or more monomers. Copolymers can be random (AAABBABBBA...) or ordered (ABABABAB or ABCABCABC). Polymers of these types are mainstays of the chemical industry, and their solubility or insolubility in aqueous environments can now be predicted with a high degree of accuracy, allowing us to properly formulate the polymerizing mixture.
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Bergethon, P.R. (1998). Macromolecules in Solution. In: The Physical Basis of Biochemistry. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2963-4_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2963-4_23
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