Polymer Chemistry Stiffening Groups9

The flexibility of a polymer chain depends on the groups present in the polymer backbone. Groups such as the following are called stiffening groups because they decrease the flexibility of the polymer chain.

As an example, poly(ethylene terephalate) is a stiffer molecule than poly(ethylene adipate) because a benzene ring is not as flexible as a chain of CH₂ groups.

Return to Chemical Composition

Return to Polymer Main Menu

Partial support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education through grants DUE #9950809 and DUE #9950296. Additional support was provided by the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation. PCOL faculty also acknowledge the National Science Teachers Association which awarded the PCOL Faculty Consortium the 1998 Gustav Ohaus Award for Innovation in College Science Teaching.

This page was last updated on July 11, 2000
whisnantdm@wofford.edu