Polymer Chemistry

Research Program

Timur Beletskii

Niskayuna High School

Niskayuna, New York

Mini Me Project

Made from methacrylate/acrylate polymers

3Doodler Pen

Resin is made of PLA and ABS, two common polymers for

3D Printing

PLA: Poly(lactic acid) & ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Copolymer)

ABS and PLA-both thermoplastic (can be melted

and cooled multiple times, useful for injection

molding) ABS- Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, Oil based

Amorphous polymer

Tg ~ 105 oC

PLA and ABS continued

PLA- Polylactic Acid, Organic

(C3H4O2)n (C3H4O2)n(C3H4O2)n

Semicrystalline Polymer

Tg ~ 50 – 55 oC

Tm ~ 150 oC

FTIR- Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy

A method of spectroscopy (study of interaction

between EM radiation and matter) using IR light

Changes the vibrations between bonds and allows

us to discover the type of bonds/atoms/functional

groups in a molecule

Graph of absorption vs. wavenumber (cm-1) have

different peaks for different substances

How to interpret

an FTIR graph

(http://academics.wellesley.edu/Chemistry/chem21

1lab/Orgo_Lab_Manual/Appendix/Instruments/Infra

redSpec/Chem211%20IR%20Lit%20Value%20Tabl

e.pdf)

FTIR Results for ABS (Desrousseaux, Camille & Cueff, Régis & Aumeran, Claire & Garrait, Ghislain & Mailhot,

Bénédicte & Traoré, Ousmane & Sautou, Valérie. (2015). Fabrication of Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Nanostructures with Anodic Alumina Oxide Templates,

Characterization and Biofilm Development Test for Staphylococcus epidermidis. PLoS ONE. 10.1371/journal.pone.0135632)

C=H-H C-C-H

C=O

FTIR Results from lab- Electric tape adhesive

sp3C-H

bond

vibration

Wave number (cm-1)

C=O

Near

~ 1750 cm-1

SEM- Scanning Electron Microscope

-Uses electrons to produce

an extremely high resolution

image

-Surface of sample piece

must be in vacuum and be

electrically conductive

What I learned

Throughout the week I learned about the basic chemistry surrounding polymers

and their structure. I also learned about advanced methods of classification like

FTIR, DSC, and SEM and the chemistry/physics behind these machines. I also

learned about 3D Printing and its fundamentals, Tg and Tm , viscosity, and radical

photopolymerization.

Citations

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281176870_Fabrication_of_Acrylonitrile-

Butadiene-

Styrene_Nanostructures_with_Anodic_Alumina_Oxide_Templates_Characterizati

on_and_Biofilm_Development_Test_for_Staphylococcus_epidermidis

http://academics.wellesley.edu/Chemistry/chem211lab/Orgo_Lab_Manual/Append

ix/Instruments/InfraredSpec/Chem211%20IR%20Lit%20Value%20Table.pdf