Chapter 12, Problem 12.122P

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

The radius of gyration of a chain of poly(ethylene terephthalate) is to be calculated.

Concept introduction:

A polymer is a macromolecule that is formed from the covalently bonded structure of small molecules known as monomers. Polymers are of two types as follows:

1. Natural polymers

2. Synthetic polymers

The molecular mass of polymer depends upon the mass of monomer and number of monomer. The formula to calculate the molecular mass of polymer is as follows:

$M_{\text{polymer}}=\left(M_{\text{monomer}}\right)\left(n\right)$ (1)

Here,

$M_{\text{polymer}}$ is the molar mass of the polymer.

$M_{\text{monomer}}$ is the molar mass of monomer.

$n$ is the degree of polymerization.

The formula to calculate the radius of gyration is as follows:

$R_{\text{g}}=\sqrt{\frac{n{I}_{\text{o}}^2}{6}}$ (2)

Here,

$R_{\text{g}}$ is the radius of gyration.

$I_{\text{o}}$ is the length of monomer.