All Polymers articles
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NewsHow silkworms can help astronauts
Silk fibres stay tough and ductile even at low temperatures, making them potentially perfect for space
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Feature
Conserving the periodic table
How paper conservators preserved the one of the world’s oldest periodic tables
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News
Poly(ionic liquid)s act like taste buds for simple sugars
New system could find use in food monitoring or disease detection
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Feature
Why you need A-level chemistry to study dentistry
Understanding enamel, fillings and anaesthetics requires chemistry knowledge
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News
Recycling plastic bottles into jet fuel
A new process converts plastic waste into hydrocarbon fuels
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Resource
Polymers starters (16–18)
Put your student’s knowledge of polymer theory to the test with these polymer Starters for ten questions.
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News
Cooking up a storm with fertiliser
Scientists find a novel way to recycle waste oil – using it as fertiliser
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Resource
The treatment of oil spills
Clean up a microscale oil spill and discuss the application of chemistry in tackling real-life environmental problems
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Resource
Making nylon: the ‘nylon rope trick’
Perform this ‘trick’ with a solution of decanedioyl dichloride in cyclohexane floated on an aqueous solution of 1,6-diaminohexane. As nylon forms at the interface, it can be pulled out as fast as it is produced forming a long thread: the ‘nylon rope’.
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Resource
Cross-linking polymers – alginate worms
Sodium alginate is a polymer which can be extracted from brown seaweed and kelps. It is one of the structural polymers that help to build the cell walls of these plants. It has some unusual properties and a wide variety of uses.
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Resource
Chemistry and Sport - football
Materials chemistry has revolutionised the game of football and given us the balls, gloves, and goalposts we play with.
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News
Castable polymers made from castor beans could replace conventional plastics
Super-tough materials derived from inedible plants are lightweight, renewable and strong enough to use in vehicles
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Magnificent molecules
Sodium poly(acrylate)
Need some fake snow for your Christmas party? Simply look inside an astronaut’s suit
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News
’Gas marbles’ surprise with their strength
Robust bubbles of gas encapsulated in a microsphere–liquid shell could trap gases
