List of synthetic polymers
Some familiar household synthetic polymers include: Nylons in textiles and fabrics, Teflon in non-stick pans, Bakelite for electrical switches, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in pipes, etc. The common PET bottles are made of a synthetic polymer, polyethylene terephthalate. The plastic kits and covers are mostly made of synthetic polymers like polythene and tires are manufactured from Buna rubbers. However, due to the environmental issues created by these synthetic polymers which are mostly non-biodegradable and often synthesized from petroleum, alternatives like bioplastics are also being considered. They are however expensive when compared to the synthetic polymers.The eight most common types of synthetic organic polymers, which are commonly found in households are:
Catalyst transfer polymerization
The first reports of CTP came simultaneously from the labs of Yokozawa and McCullough in 2004, with the recognition that polythiophene can be synthesized with low dispersity and control over molecular weight when a grignard thiophene monomer was polymerized with Nickel(1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane)dichloride. This recognition sparked interest in the system, and its expansion to other monomers. Despite major advances in the field, relatively few polymers can be synthesized via CTP because the lack of a "universal CTP catalyst" means that every monomer must be paired with a different catalyst in order to obtain ideal living chain-growth behavior. This need to pair monomers to catalysts means most conjugated polymers are synthesized via palladium catalyzed step-growth polycondensation cross-coupling reactions.