Biodegradable polymers produced from renewable monomers are particularly attract

Question

Biodegradable polymers produced from renewable monomers are particularly attractive because they offer the promise of materials that are sustainable both in origin and disposal. When it comes to developing polymers that are both biodegradable and renewable, nature has a ~3 ½ billion year head start over synthetic chemists. While biopolymers are often not as well defined as man-made synthetic polymers, many biopolymers exhibit amazing materials properties. Spider silk, for example, is weight for weight stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar.1 Find a biopolymer and briefly describe its chemical composition, whether it would be considered an addition polymer or condensation polymer and its important physical properties. How prevalent is the polymer in nature and what does the organism that produces it use it for? Be sure to include your source.

Explanation / Answer

Biopolymer- Cellulose is a biopolymer.

Chemical composition- Cellulose is a polysaccharide and is composed of a linear chain of hundreds to thousands of D-glucose building blocks.

Chemical formula of cellulose is  (C6H10O5)n

Molecules of cellulose contain beta-acetal linkages.

Cellulose is considered as a condensation polymer.

Physical properties of cellulose are:

1. It has no taste

2. It is odorless

3. It is hydrophilic and the contact angle is 20–30

4. It is insoluble in water and organic solvents

Cellulose is widely prevalent in nature. Green plants produce cellulose and use it for structural strength.

The sources of above information are:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15861454

http://education.seattlepi.com/chemical-composition-starch-cellulose-4262.html

http://www.easychem.com.au/production-of-materials/biomass-research/condensation-polymerisation

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