338. © Engineering Chemistry: Fundamentals and Applications Hence, the molecular weight can be expressed as average of the molecular weights individual molecules present in the sample. The molecular weight of a polymer is expressed in two ways (i) Number average molecular weight M, oe respectively, then the number average molecular weight is are the numbers of molecules with molecular masses Mi nM, +mM;+njMy +... Totalmassof the polymer sample m+n, +n,+...____ Numberof molecules present in the sample _ En, Sn, where n,is the number of molecules or number of moles of molecules having Number average molecular weight can be measured on the basis of colligatin= ‘osmotic pressure. (i) Weight average molecular weight _Ifm,,m,,m, masses M,, M,, My, -.-» respectively, then the wei are the weights of 1 average molecular Wi, = Mma tM tn m, +m, +m, _ mM, Lm, where n, = number of molecules of mass M,.My is determined by methods like ultracentrifugation, etc. Degree of Polymerization It represents the number of repeating units in a example, if a polymer has 5000 repeating units, then the degree of polymerization s Degree of polymerization can be number average degree of polymerization average degree of polymerization (DP,). i, = number average molecular weight Ti. = weight average molecular weightPolymers @ 339 = molecular weight of monomer ity index The ratio of mass average molecular mass to the number average molecular called polydispersity index PDI. MM. an idea about the homogeneity of the polymer. les a polymer sample, 30% molecules have a molecular mass 20,000, 40% have molecular 30,000 and rest have 60,000. Calculate mass average and number average molecular _ nM, _ (30x 20,000) +(40 x 30,000) + (30 x 60,000) Sa 30+40+30 = 36000 _ Xn,M} _ 30(20,000)' + 40(30,000)" + 30(60,000)" EM, 30% 20,000+ 40 x 30,000 + 30 x 60,000 = 43333. are two fractions with molecular weights 104 and 10°. Let us consider 100 g of the et, 10 g fraction has molecular weight 10* and 90 g has 10°. Calculate 77, and 7, wM,+w,M, _10x10* +90+10° = = 91000 w+, 10+90 4 5 wy, -2MitnM _ Sp oe ent n+n, 0,9 10* 10° eee mM, 10 _ 100x10° * $90 7199 7 5:26%10 10°340 © Engineering Chemistry: Fundamentals and Applications ‘Practice problems. 1. Calculate the number average and weight average molecular mass of a 10 molecules of molecular mass each = 5000 20 molecules of molecular mass each = 7500 20 molecules of molecular mass each = 10,000 25 molecules of molecular mass each = 15,000 20 molecules of molecular mass each = 20,000. 5 molecules of molecular mass each = 25000 [Ans 74, = 13000 2. Calculate the number average and weight average molecular masses of pol with the following composition. sat ie —cHy—cH—| 85% |__| i885 98 400 800 te —cH,—cH—| 40% 600 6.7 Plastics ‘The term ‘plastic’ refers to the class of polymers that can be shaped into hard aad articles by the application of heat and pressure. ‘They are strong, light, highly dielectric, durable and corrosion-resistant. Besa properties, the use of plastics is increasing tremendously. Plastic materials are all walks of life. The reason of using plastics over metals is that * They are light in weight and at the same time possess good strenggh, to They are corrosion-resistant and also resist the action of chemicals, i They are less brittle than glass and can be made equally smooth and transpareme They do not absorb moisture. They can be easily moulded into desired shape. They can take a variety of colors, are heat-resistant, abrasion-resistant dimensional stability. Their maintenance cost is low. Types of plastics Plastics are generally classified into two categories (i) Thermoplastics . . . (ii) Thermosetting plastics Thermoplastics They are plastic materials that soften on heating and can be desired shape. On cooling they become hard. However, they can be resoftened and