What are monomers and polymers?

What are monomers and polymers?

Monomer

A monomer is a molecule that may bind chemically to other molecules to form a polymer. Commonly a monomer is an organic molecule, containing two carbon atoms which share a double bond (C=C). This double bond will "open" during the polymerization allowing each carbon atom to be attached to another one.The most common natural monomer is glucose, which is linked by glycosidic bonds into polymers such as cellulose, starch, and glycogen. Most often the term monomer refers to the organic molecules which form synthetic polymers, such as, vinyl chloride, which is used to produce the polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Example:

Vinyl Chloride

Polymer

Polymer comes from two Greek words "Polus" and "Meros" which mean "Many" and "Part". A polymer is a large molecule, or macromolecule, composed of many repeated subunits. By definition, it's a macromolecule which has been created by the reaction of many molecules called monomers.

Example:

Polystyrene

Also See: Polymerization