homomerisation

Homomerisation is a type of polymerisation reaction where only one type of monomer is used to form a polymer. In this process, identical monomer units repeatedly link together to create a long chain molecule. The resulting polymer is known as a homopolymer. This is in contrast to copolymerisation, where two or more different types of monomers are involved in forming the polymer chain.

The simplest example of homomerisation is the formation of polyethylene from ethylene monomers. Each ethylene molecule (CH2=CH2) opens up its double bond and joins with other ethylene molecules to form a long chain of repeating -CH2-CH2- units. Similarly, polypropylene is formed from propylene monomers, and polystyrene from styrene monomers. The properties of the homopolymer are directly determined by the structure of the monomer and the way it links together. Understanding homomerisation is fundamental to polymer science and the production of many common plastics and synthetic materials.