All Polymers articles – Page 7
-
ResourcePolymers
Understanding the formation and properties of polymers gives an insight into how they are used in everyday life. The chemistry involved is varied and links together many aspects of the subject including an introduction to organic chemistry, ions, structure and bonding. The activities that include both practicals and questions help ...
-
FeatureTerpenes: not just for Christmas
The chemicals that give Christmas trees their pine fresh smell could be at the centre of a chemical revolution, as Josh Howgego explains
-
-
FeatureThe science of sorting
Many of the UK's local authorities collect recyclable waste mixed together in the same bin. Mike Tingle discovers how differences in chemical and physical properties are used to separate a wide variety of materials
-
ResourceChemistry in your Bathroom resource
Discover how Croda products transform your bathroom from disarray to a fully functionable and clean bathroom with this resource explaining the chemistry behind these products. Please note that some aspects of the resource are no longer interactive/functional.
-
Class experimentElectrochromic polymer
Can polymers conduct electricity as well as metals? Using this experiment, learners will discover how the two materials differ. Includes kit list and safety instructions
-
Class experimentGreen plastics
Discover more about the science of green plastics with this in depth session on bio-plastics and the issues around fossil fuels
-
Lesson planYear 9 chemistry day
Introduce the fun aspects of polymers with plastic milk and bouncing custard
-
Class experimentSnap, crackle and snot
Investigate some of the weird and wonderful properties of solids, liquids and gases, in this range of experiments
-
The MoleTrade secrets... Skateboarding
Secrets of the trade: Jonathan Hare investigates how chemistry revolutionised the sport
-
ResourceOn This Day - Apr 06 : Teflon invented
Teflon, which is the trade name for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), was first made by American chemist Roy Plunkett by accident whilst working for DuPont. Teflon’s inert nature and extreme slipperiness has led to it being used in many applications, including non-stick saucepans.
-
ResourceOn This Day - Jun 21 : Boron was isolated
The French pair beat the English chemist Humphrey Davy to it by just nine days. Boron (B) is named after one of its compounds, borax, which had been used as a glazing agent for hundreds of years.
-
ResourceOn This Day - Feb 24 : Nylon commercially produced
Nylon was first used in toothbrush bristles for the Miracle Tuft Toothbrush. Before this, the world relied on toothbrush bristles made from the neck hairs of wild pigs from Siberia, Poland and China.
-
ResourceOn This Day – Jul 28 : Earl Tupper was born
While working at the DuPont chemical company he began to scrounge waste polythene, and then purified and moulded it into cups, bowls and plates. Tupper later founded the Tupperware Plastics Company, and sold it 20 years later for $16 million USD.
-
ResourceOn This Day - Feb 04 : Plunkett patented Teflon
Teflon is the brand name for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a fluorinated plastic. It is used as a non-stick coating for pans because of its inertness and extreme slipperiness. It is the only known material to which gecko’s feet cannot stick!
-
ResourceOn This Day - Jan 22 : Alan J Heeger was born
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2000 along with Alan MacDiarmid and Hideki Shirakawa for “their discovery and development of conductive polymers”. They found that modified plastics could conduct electricity, which has many commercial uses such as LEDs and mobile telephone display screens.
-
FeatureTeaching chemistry in 3D using crystal structure data
Fundamental topics such as stereochemistry are taught in 2 or 2.5D - the Cambridge Structural Database provides an interactive 3D solution
-
-
The MoleHang time: could you use a hose pipe to break a fall of 10 metres?
On screen chemistry with Jonathan Hare
-
FeaturePrinting on plastic
The dye diffusion thermal transfer method is used for printing digital photos on plastics, and for direct printing on PVC cards