Dept of Chemistry – PESCE, MANDYA

Module-4 POLYMERS & GREEN FUELS

Polymers: Introduction, Molecular weight - Number average, weight average and numerical
problems. Preparation, properties and commercial applications of Kevlar and epoxy resin.
Conducting polymers –synthesis, conducting mechanism of polyacetylene (p- type and n-
type) and commercial applications.
Green Fuels: Introduction, construction and working of solar photovoltaic cell, advantages,
and disadvantages. Generation of energy (green hydrogen) by electrolysis of water and its
advantages.

POLYMERS
Definition: “Polymers are macro sized molecules of high molecular mass formed by the
combination of a large number of simple molecules by covalent bonds”.
Ex: Polyethylene, polyacetylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, natural and synthetic
rubbers etc.
Polymerization: “The process by which the monomers are converted into polymers is called
Polymerization”.
MOLECULAR WEIGHT OF POLYMERS:

Due to the varying chain lengths, a polymer is considered to have average molecular mass. 2
types of average molecular masses have been recognized namely, number average and weight
average molecular masses.

Number average molecular mass: It is obtained by dividing the total weight of the
monomers with the number of monomer molecules present in polymer i.e.,

Where n1, n2, n3 are the number of molecules having masses M1, M2, M3 respectively. The
above equation can also be written as,
Where Mi is the masses of monomers and ni is the number of monomers.

Weight average molecular mass: It gives the representation to different molecular species
in proportion to their weight in the given polymer molecule.

Where w and M represent the weight and molecular masses of each species present in
polymers. Since w= nM,

Poly Disparity index [PDI]:

Mw
PDI =
Mn
If PDI =1 polymer is mono disperse & Homogeneous.
PDI >1 polymer is poly disperse & less Homogeneous.

Dr. Prashanth P A. Page 1

Dept of Chemistry – PESCE, MANDYA
NUMERICALS

1. In a sample of a polymer, 100 molecules have molecular mass 103 g/mol, 250 molecules have
molecular mass 104 g/mol, and 300 molecules have molecular mass 105 g /mol, calculate the number
average and weight average molecular mass of the polymer, Calculate PDI and comment on it.

Solution
It is given that,
N1 =100 & M1 = 103g/mol,
N2 =250 & M1 = 104 g/mol,
N3 =300 & M1 = 105 g/mol.
The number average molecular mass of the polymer is given by

Mn =
Σ NiMi
Σ Ni
N M +N M +N M 100 X 103 + 250 X 104 + 300 X 105
= 1 1 2 2 3 3
= = 50153g / mol
N1+ N 2 + N 3... 100 + 250 + 300

The weight average molecular mass of the polymer is given by

Σ Ni Mi 2
Σ Ni Mi
N M 2
+NM 2
+N M 2
1 1 2 2 3 3
N1 M 1 + N 2 M 2 + N 3 M 3
100 X (103 ) 2 + 250 X (104 ) 2 + 300 X (105 ) 2
MW = = 92794 g / mol
100 X103 + 250 X 104 + 300 X 105
Mw 92794
Poly dispersity index, PDI = = = 1.85
Mn 50100
PDI >1, the given polymer is less homogeneous and poly disperse in nature.

2. In a sample of a polymer, 20% molecules have molecular mass 15000 g/mol, 35% molecules have
molecular mass 25000 g/mol, and remaining molecules have molecular mass 20000 g /mol, calculate
the number average and weight average molecular mass of the polymer, Calculate PDI and comment
on it.

Solution
It is given that,
N1 =20 & M1 = 15000g/mol,
N2 =35 & M1 = 25000g/mol,
N3 =45 & M1 = 20000 g/mol.
The number average molecular mass of the polymer is given by

Mn =
Σ NiMi =
N1 M1 + N 2 M 2 + N3 M 3
Σ Ni N1+ N 2 + N 3...

Dr. Prashanth P A. Page 2

Dept of Chemistry – PESCE, MANDYA
20 X 15000 + 35X 25000 + 45 X 20000
= = 20750 g / mol
20 + 35 + 45
The weight average molecular mass of the polymer is given by

Σ Ni Mi 2
Σ Ni Mi
N M 2
+NM 2
+N M 2

MW = 1 1 2 2 3 3

N1 M 1 + N 2 M 2 + N 3 M 3
20 X (15000)2 + 35X (25000)2 + 45X (20000)2
MW = = 21385 g / mol
20 X15000 + 35X 25000 + 45 X 20000
Mw 21385
Poly dispersity index, PDI = = = 1.03
Mn 20750
PDI >1 ,the given polymer is less homogeneous and poly disperse in nature.

POLYMER COMPOSITES

The combination of two or more distinct components to form a new class of material suitable
for structural applications is referred to as composite materials. When one of the components
is a polymer, resulting composite called as polymer composite.

Kevlar: Kevlar is synthesized in solution of N-methyl-pyrrolidone & calcium chloride from

the monomers 1, 4-phenylene-diamine (para-phenylenediamine) & terephthaloyl chloride
through a condensation reaction with liberation of HCl as a byproduct.

Properties:

1. It has very light weight.

2. It has high tensile strength and stiffness.
3. It has very good corrosion resistance.

Applications of Kevlar:

1. It is used to make light weight boat hulls

2. aircraft fuselage panels, pressure vassals, high performance race car, bullet proof vests,
3. Used in puncture resistance bicycle tyres etc.

ADHESIVES

Adhesives are polymeric material used to bind the surface of the same type or different type.

Dr. Prashanth P A. Page 3

Dept of Chemistry – PESCE, MANDYA
RESIN
Resin is the low molecular weight polymers, either in the form of liquid or solid. They are used as
adhesive.

Epoxy resin: Epoxy resin is synthesized by the condensation reaction of epichlorohydrin and
bisphenol-A

Synthesis:

Properties:

1) The epoxy resins have excellent adhesion quality for various surfaces
2) They are highly viscous liquids and are soluble in organic solvents
3) After adhesion, they are highly resistant to water, solvents, acids, alkalis and weather.
4) They have very good electrical insulating property.
5) The epoxy resins can be used with substances such as polyamines, polysulfides and
polyamides.

Applications:

1) Epoxy resins are used to bind many surfaces like glass, metals, wood etc
2) They are used as surface coatings for skid-resistant surfaces for highways
3) Epoxy resins are used for production of components of aircrafts and automobiles
4) Epoxy resins are applied over cotton, rayon and bleached fabrics to impart crease- resistance
(anti folding) and shrinkage control
5) They are one of the principal constituents of fiber-reinforced plastics
6) They are used as laminating materials for electrical equipments.

CONDUCTING POLYMERS

Definition: “An organic polymer with highly delocalized pi-electron system having electrical
conductance is called conducting polymer”.
Ex: Polyacetylene, polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyphenylene, polyaniline, etc.

Synthesis of Polyacetylene:
From Acetylene: In this method polyacetylene is synthesized by using monomer gaseous
acetylene in the presence of Ziegler-Natta catalyst such as Titanium isopropaxide (Ti(OPr)) 4)
and triethyl aluminium (Al(C2H5)3).
TiCl4/Al(C 2H5) 3
CH HC n

Acetylene Polyacetylene

This polymerization involves metal insertion into the triple bond of the monomer.

Dr. Prashanth P A. Page 4

Dept of Chemistry – PESCE, MANDYA
Commercial Applications of Polyacetylene:
1. Used in the manufacture of chemical sensors, corrosion inhibitors.
2. Used in compact electronic devices such as polymer-based transistors, LEDs etc.

Mechanism of conduction in polyacetylene: Conducting polymers are generally produced

by doping an oxidizing or a reducing agent into an organic polymer with conjugated back
bone consisting of pi-electron system.
An organic polymer can be converted into a conducting polymer if it has
1. Linear structure
2. Extensive conjugation in polymeric back bone (Pi-back bone)

The conducting polymers are synthesized by doping, in which charged species are introduced
in organic polymers having pi-back bone. The important doping reactions are;

1. Oxidative doping (p-doping)

2. Reductive doping (n-doping)
3. Protonic acid doping (p-doping)

1. Oxidative doping (p-doping): In this process, pi-back bone of a polymer is partially

oxidized using a suitable oxidizing agent. This creates positively charged sites on polymer
back bone, which are current carriers for conduction.
The oxidizing agents used in p-doping are iodine vapor, iodine in CCl4, HBF4, perchloric acid
and benzoquinone.

The removal of an electron from the polymer pi-back bone using a suitable oxidizing agent
leads to the formation of delocalized radical ion called polaron. A second oxidation of a chain
containing polaron followed by radical recombination yields two charge carriers on each
chain. The positive charges sites on the polymer chains are compensated by anions I 3- formed
by the oxidizing agent during doping. The delocalized positive charges on the polymer chain
are mobile, not the dopant anions.

Dr. Prashanth P A. Page 5

Dept of Chemistry – PESCE, MANDYA
Thus, these delocalized positive charges are current carriers for conduction. These charges
must move from chain to chain as well as along the chain for bulk conduction On doping
polyacetylene using iodine in CCl4, for partial oxidation, the conductivity increases from 10-5
S.cm-1 to 103-105 S.cm-1.

2. Reductive doping (n-type): In the reductive doping pi-backbone of the polymer is

partially reduced by suitable reducing agent. This creates a negatively charged site on the
polymer backbone. These negatively charged sites are responsible for the conduction. Most
commonly used reducing agent is solution of sodium napthalide in tetra hydro furan.
Mechanism: the addition of electron to the polymer chain generates a radical ion, polaron.
The second reduction of the chain containing polaron, followed by the recombination of
radical yields two negatively charged carriers, bipolaron on each chain. Due to instability
charge separation takes place and shift from one carbon atom to other conducting electricity.

Applications:
 Fabrication of organic thin transistors.
 Non-volatile memory devices based on organic transistors.
 Fabrication of organic photovoltaic cells.
 Fabrication of organic light-emitting devices (OLED).
 Conducting polymer actuators and Micropumps.
 Focused upon polymer membranes that incorporated electronically conducting
polymers and piezoelectric polymers.

GRAPHENE OXIDE:
Graphene oxide (GO) is two-dimensional material formed by the oxidation of graphene. It is
a single-atomic-layered material, when stacked together forms graphite oxide. It contains
hydroxyl (-OH), alkoxy (C-O-C), carbonyl (C=O), carboxylic acid (-COOH) and other
oxygen-based functional groups. These groups are attached to both the sides of a single
graphite sheet and overcome the inter-sheet van der Waals force. As a result, interlayer
spacing increase causing reduction in its conductivity. It has been using in several
applications in electronics, conductive films, electrode materials and nano composites.

Dr. Prashanth P A. Page 6

Dept of Chemistry – PESCE, MANDYA
SYNTHESIS:
Take 2g graphene and 2g of NaNO3 (catalyst) in 50 ml of H2SO4 bath in 1000 ml volumetric
flask kept in an ice bath (0-5 oC) with continuous stirring for 2 hours. Then add 6g KMnO 4
(oxidizing agent) very slowly at temperature kept below 15 oC. After some time, remove the
ice bath and allow the mixture for stirring at 35 oC for 48 hours. Finally, treat the solution
with 10 ml H2O2 to terminate the reaction and filter. After filtration, dry it in vacuum at room
temperature to get powdered graphene oxide.

Properties of Graphene Oxide

1. High thermal conductivity and high electrical conductivity.
2. High elasticity and flexibility.
3. High hardness and high resistance
4. Ionizing radiation is not affected.
5. Transparent material.
Commercial Applications of Graphene Oxide
1. Used in electronic and energy storage devices.
2. Used in Bio- sensors and biomedical applications.
3. Used as super capacitors.
4. Used as membranes, catalysts and water purification technology.

Dr. Prashanth P A. Page 7

Dept of Chemistry – PESCE, MANDYA
GREEN FUELS
Introduction
A fuel derived from biomass is called as green fuel. They are considered as renewable, eco-
friendly, relatively less flammable compared to fossil fuel, has better lubricating properties and
reduce greenhouse gases up to 65 percent. It can be manufactured from wide range of materials.
Most common forms of green fuels are
1. Solar Power 2. Wind Power 3. Hydropower 4. Geothermal Energy 5. Biomass and 6. Biofuels.

Photovoltaic cells (Solar cells):

The device, which converts solar energy into electrical energy, is called photovoltaic cell and the
phenomenon is called photovoltaic effect.

CONSTRUCTION WORKING AND APPLICATIONS OF SOLAR CELLS

Construction:
 The device consists of p-n junction diode
coated with anti-reflective layer (TiO2) at
the top.
 Two electrical contacts are provided, one in
the form of metallic grid at the top of the
junction and the other is a silver layer at the
bottom of the cell.
 The antireflective layer coated in between
the metallic grids which allow light to fall
on the semiconductor.
Working:
 The photons of solar radiations enter n-type semiconductor breaks barrier potential and
moves to p-type semiconductor where photons knock the electrons in p type to form
electron hole pair.
 The free electrons so formed will travels through the circuit from n-type and recombines
with holes again in p-region.
 The movement of electrons from n type to p type generates electric current. The electrical
energy produced from the solar cell is used for various applications
Advantages of PV cells:
 Eco friendly energy conversion device.
 Do not undergo corrode
 No moving parts in PV cell, hence no wear and tear.
Disadvantages of PV cells:
 Installation cost is high.
 Produced only during the day time.
 It generates only DC current.

Applications:
 Used in toys, watches, remote lighting systems
 Used in water pumping, water treatment.
 Used in emergency power, satellites. Etc.

Dr. Prashanth P A. Page 8

Dept of Chemistry – PESCE, MANDYA
HYDROGEN FUEL

Hydrogen fuel is preferred over the other fossil fuels because of the following features.
 It is lightest element
 Gas of diatomic molecules having the formula H2.
 Colourless, odourless and Tasteless
 Non-metallic and non-toxic
 Highly combustible,
 Most abundant chemical substance in the universe.

Generation of hydrogen by electrolysis of water

Alkaline water electrolysis

 It consists of two electrodes i.e. anode and
cathode.
 Both electrodes are made up of Ni based
metal, because it is more stable during the
oxygen evolution.
 These electrodes are immersed in KOH
solution (25-35%).
 Both electrodes are separated by porous
diaphragm prevent gases crossover and
allows only hydroxide ions.
 Cell voltage is 1.3 – 2 V
 When electricity is passed, at anode
hydroxide ions lose electrons and forms water molecules.

Anode:
–
2𝑂𝐻– → 1/2 𝑂2 + 𝐻2𝑂 + 2𝑒
 At cathode, water molecules accept electrons and liberate hydrogen gas and forms
hydroxide ions.
 These hydroxide ions move from cathode to anode through diaphragm and process
continues.
Cathode: 𝐻2𝑂 + 2𝑒– → 𝐻2 + 2𝑂𝐻–

Total reaction :2𝐻2𝑂 → 𝑂2 + 2𝐻2

Advantages
 Low cost and well-established technology
 Long Stability and stacks in the megawatt range
 Non-noble catalyst

Dr. Prashanth P A. Page 9