The completed equation should show the double bond in the monomer breaking, and single bonds extending out from the two carbon atoms to the left and right, enclosed in brackets with a subscript 'n'. The rest of the molecule attached to the carbon atoms remains unchanged.
This is an example of addition polymerisation. It occurs with monomers that have a C=C double bond (alkenes).
1. **Initiation:** The process is started, often using high pressure, high temperature, and a catalyst.
2. **Propagation:** The double bond in one monomer molecule breaks open. One of the electrons from the double bond forms a new single covalent bond with an adjacent monomer molecule. This process repeats, adding more and more monomers to create a long chain.
3. **Drawing the Polymer:** To represent this on paper:
- Focus on the two carbon atoms that were part of the double bond.
- Change the C=C double bond in the monomer to a C-C single bond in the polymer.
- The other groups attached to these carbons (-H, -H, and the ester group) remain attached in the same way.
- Draw single bonds extending from each of these two carbons outwards, passing through the brackets. These represent the bonds linking to the next repeating units in the chain.
- Enclose the entire repeating unit in square brackets and write a subscript 'n' to signify a large number of repeating units.
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