Covalent structures and bonding
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I'm doing work on bonding. We have been given some compounds one of which is a covalent , polymeric molecule. I was just wondering what this meant and what properties it had.
Jenkin replies
Your compound is covalent, so it is probably formed from non-metallic elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen or chlorine.
It is a polymer which means its molecules are very large and are formed by joining together lots of similar small molecules, Think of poly(ethene), formed from ethene.
Because its molecules are long chains which can tangle around one another the intermolecular forces of attraction between them are relatively high and it has a fairly high melting point compared to compounds consisting of small molecules.
Because the chains are not all of the same length its melting point is not sharp, it gradually softens when heated. It contains no ions so will not conduct electricity.
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updated: 17 December 2003
