Synthetic monomers Ethylene gas (H2C=CH2) is the

Synthetic monomers[edit]
Ethylene gas (H2C=CH2) is the monomer for polyethylene.
Other modified ethylene derivatives include:
tetrafluoroethylene (F2C=CF2) which leads to Teflon
vinyl chloride (H2C=CHCl) which leads to PVC
styrene (C6H5CH=CH2) which leads to polystyrene
Epoxide monomers may be cross linked with themselves, or with the addition of a co-reactant, to form epoxy
BPA is the monomer precursor for polycarbonate
Terephthalic acid is a comonomer that, with ethylene glycol, forms polyethyleneterephthalate.
Dimethylsilicon dichloride is a monomer that, upon hydrolysis, gives polydimethylsiloxane.
Biopolymers[edit]
The term "monomeric protein" may also be used to describe one of the proteins making up a multiprotein complex.[5]
Natural monomers[edit]
Some of the main biopolymers are listed below:
Amino acids[edit]
For proteins, the monomers are amino acids. Polymerization occurs at ribosomes. Usually about 20 types of amino acid monomers are used to produce proteins. Hence proteins are not homopolymers.
Nucleotides[edit]
For polynucleic acids (DNA/RNA), the monomers are nucleotides, each of which is made of a pentose sugar, a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group. Nucleotide monomers are found in the cell nucleus. Four types of nucleotide monomers are precursors to DNA and four different nucleotide monomers are precursors to RNA.
Glucose and related sugars[edit]
For carbohydrates, the monomers are monosaccharides. The most abundant natural monomer is glucose, which is linked by glycosidic bonds into the polymers cellulose, starch, and glycogen.[6]
Isoprene[edit]
Isoprene is a natural monomer that polymerizes to form natural rubber, most often cis-1,4-polyisoprene, but also trans-1,4-polymer. Synthetic rubbers are often based on butadiene, which is structurally related to isoprene.