What are synthetic polymers?

Synthetic polymers are a class of human-made compounds that consist of chains and networks of repeating units. Typical examples include polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyamide (e.g., nylon), polyacrylate (e.g., adhesives), and polyester (e.g., PET).

You will find that a very large portion of the things in your daily life is made of synthetic polymers. Without synthetic polymers, we would not have laptops, phones, bottles, a variety of textiles, and so much more.

Figure 1: Example of everyday objects that are made from synthetic polymers.