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A copolymer, though, is a polymer that has different numbers of repeating units. Copolymers are grouped according to the arrangement of the units in the polymer backbone.

The arrangement of the monomers in a copolymer is determined by the monomer types, the ratios between monomers, and processing conditions. Copolymers are the chemical mixture of two polymers in some ratio. Terpolymers are the chemical mixture of three different monomers like ABS. An engineer will polymerize monomers together to enhance strength, temperature resistance, or chemical resistance. Monomer forms can also be created through the parylene coating process.

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A polymer is a very large molecule (macromolecule) composed of many small repeating molecular units (monomer). Polymers are formed from atoms that are capable of multiple covalent bonds. Such as the carbon atoms in ethylene CH2=CH2 molecule. Molecules with this type of bonding are said to be unsaturated. These compounds tend to keep this structure yet will readily react (under heat and pressure) to form more stable single bond structures; they will form a saturated compound. For example, ethylene will react to form polyethylene [-CH2-CH2-’]n . The [n] signifies the number of repeating units in the polymer backbone. This number can be from 1000 to ~300,000 units. The polyethylene material will have different properties based on the number of repeating ethylene monomer units.

From this simple compound, substitutions can be made to provide different properties. When one substitution is made the compound is a vinyl monomer. When two substitutions are made the compound is a vinylidene monomer. As more substitutions are made other compounds are created.

To recap, polymers are formed through chemical reactions under heat and pressure. Additives, ingredients, and conditions are designed to control how the polymer is formed and desired properties. This process is called polymerization. Polymerizing one kind of monomer will create a homopolymer as in polyethylene or polypropylene.

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