Polymer Chemistry

Functional Polymers and its Applications

Functional polymers are macromolecules to which functional groups are attached which can be utilized as reagents, catalysts, protecting groups, etc. The use of functional polymer rest on the physical properties of support and the chemical constitution of the attached functional group. The polymer support may be organic or inorganic. Polymer backbone plays a crucial role in performance of functional polymers. A polymer to be used as a support should have significant mechanical stability under the reaction conditions. Such properties of the support play important role in functionalization reactions of polymers .The polymer properties can be modified either by chemical or by changing the physical nature of the polymers. They are cost effective, non-toxic, recycled and thus mediate environment friendly chemistry. This session talks about the modification of polymer backbones, design of functional polymers, its advantages and limitations as well as its various applications.