Hey hey! Bit rusty with POM but just with this question:
"Compare the process of polymerisation of ethylene and glucose. Include relevant chemical equations in your answer." (3 marks)
What more do they want us to say apart from the fact that ethylene is addition polymerisation and glucose is condensation? like did we ever learn/need to know the specifics to condensation polymerisation? All I know is that it's when two difunctional monomers join together and eliminate a small molecule, I don't really know much about the 'process' :/ And with ethylene do we need to go into zieggler natta and free radical polymerisation (for HDPE and LDPE) ? And what equations do they even want omg (do they want the n(glucose)--> (cellulose)n + (n-1) water? With the actual equations ofc i just cbb to type it out) this whole question just confuses me hahahaha cheers
Neutron
You do actually need to know the whole process. That's what you're comparing.
Only similarity is probably that they're both polymerisation processes. The differences are in the processes themselves.
Ethylene undergoes addition polymerisation, which MUST have an initiator or Ziegler-Natta catalyst (can't be spontaneous). The three phases are initiation+activation, propagation and termination.
Glucose undergoes condenstion polymerisation, in which beta-glucose monomers join together flipping, and also always expels the water molecule. Two monomers join to form a dimer, and then these dimers undergo the polymerisation process.
But no great depth is needed here though.