Perturbed polymers
Declan Fleming shows you how to capture your students’ imaginations with spectacular demonstrations
When discussing intermolecular forces, polymers present a wide range of opportunities for demonstrations because of the sheer wealth of materials available. The use of some polymers relies on their sensitivity to particular solvents while others can be compromised unintentionally through exposure to the ‘wrong’ solvent. In this demonstration we investigate the properties of two polymers.
With an accompanying video, Declan Fleming shows how to use poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and rubber (cis-1,4-polyisoprene) to demonstrate intermolecular forces in polymers.
This article includes suggestions on how to adapt the experiment using different materials.
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