Polymer nomenclature
Nomenclature, classification et formules chimiques des polymères

The IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry), followed by the various national (AFNOR) and international (ISO) standards bodies, has adopted a nomenclature for plastics that reflects their chemical nature:

• or the starting monomer in the case of simple polymerization;

• or the polymer's constituent unit, when the latter results from the polyaddition or polycondensation of two distinct base products.

Examples are given below.