Project Details:

Glossary of Polymer Chemical and Topological Class Names (revised title)

> reinitiated in 2002 as project 2002-014-1-400

In chemistry, a class is a set of compounds sharing a common structural feature or function. IUPAC has already published a glossary of class names of organic compounds and Commission IV.1 has published a number of recommendations on how to name specific macromolecules. These publications are widely accepted and well-used. However, although many polymer class names are commonly used, in industry, academe and in everyday life, in matters relating to macromolecular chemistry, science and technology, they have not been consistently and clearly defined. To facilitate and improve the concise and clear transfer of information on conventional types of macromolecule and polymer material, an authoritative IUPAC glossary of polymer class names is long overdue. Such a glossary would be wide application, for example, in the scientific community, in education, in environmental issues, in patents and by the legal profession.

The Working party has compiled a list of some 200 polymer classes. For each class, its name, its definition, its characteristic structural feature and an example are given. The classes are grouped into three sections:

The last section is being expanded to make it more complete, even when it involves a repetition of previously published definitions. An agreement has been reached on the use of trivial names, with systematic names in parentheses, for the specific monomers and reactants cited in the examples. The Working Party is modifying all of the definitions to conform with the contents and style of previously published documents, wherever applicable.