What are the characteristics of polymer materials compared with small molecular compounds?

Compared with low molecular compounds, the crystalline structure of polymers has the following characteristics:

1. When the polymer melt flows, viscous flow occurs under the action of external force, and at the same time it shows reversible elastic deformation.

2. The flow of polymer is not a simple sliding between polymer chains, but the result of sequential conversion of moving units.

3. Its rheological behavior strongly depends on the structure of the polymer itself, molecular weight and its distribution, temperature, pressure, time, nature and magnitude of force and other external conditions.

4. Most polymer molding processes are carried out in viscous flow, such as extrusion, injection and blow molding.

5. Elastic deformation and its subsequent relaxation affect the appearance and dimensional stability of products.

Extended data:

Applications of polymers:

Polymer materials are materials composed of relatively high molecular weight compounds, including rubber, plastics, fibers, coatings, adhesives and polymer-based composites. Polymers are forms of life. All living things can be regarded as a collection of polymers.

Many natural materials are usually made of polymer materials, such as natural rubber, cotton, human organs and so on. The same is true of synthetic chemical fibers, plastics and rubber. Generally speaking, polymers that are widely used in life and form industrial production scale are general polymer materials, and functional polymers with special uses and functions.

Functional polymer materials is a new frontier discipline, involving a wide range of subjects, including organic chemistry, inorganic chemistry, optics, electricity, structural chemistry, biochemistry, electronics, medicine and many other disciplines, and is an extremely active research field at home and abroad.

The main reason why functional polymer materials can become one of the important research hotspots in materials science at home and abroad is that they have unique "functions", which can be used to replace other functional materials, improve their properties and make them functional materials with brand-new properties.