Nomenclature, classification et formules chimiques des polymères

The term PLASTICS commonly refers to an ever-growing family of products made up of macromolecules (or polymers) characterized by the repetition, a very large number of times, of the same group of atoms called the constitutive motif. This pattern differs from one polymer to another, and largely determines the physical and thermomechanical properties of the finished product (after processing).

In view of the wide variety of plastics used in an ever-growing number of fields, we think it would be useful to :

• present the rules for systematically establishing chemical names to uniquely identify the main polymers on the market;

• to classify them into "chemical families" of polymers with similar structures and properties;

• give the chemical formulas for each of them.