MACROMOLECULAR COMPOUNDS OBTAINED BY REACTIONS ONLY INVOLVING CARBON-TO-CARBON UNSATURATED BONDS

**Definition:** This place covers:

Homopolymers and copolymers of compounds having one or more unsaturated radicals, each having one or more carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds and optionally other functional groups such as aromatic rings, halogens, carboxylic acid, ester or anhydride groups, groups containing nitrogen or other heteroatoms such as Si, S, B or P. These polymers are also known as addition polymers.

The above polymers include polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, polymers of vinyl chloride, acetate or pyrrolidone, styrene or divinylbenzene polymers, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, butadiene or isoprene polymers, allyl polymers, acrylonitrile polymers, maleic anhydride polymers, vinylidene polymers, tetrafluoroethylene polymers and many others including those in the "Synonyms and Keywords" section below.

Other specific polymers such as copolymers of hydrocarbons and mineral oils, petroleum resins, terpene resins, copolymers of drying oils with other monomers or coumarone-indene copolymers.

Graft polymers are considered to be macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers containing at least one ethylenically unsaturated aliphatic radical on to or in the presence of preformed polymeric compounds.

Block polymers wherein blocks are linked by reactions involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds.

Other types of polymers formed via carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds, e.g. by inter-reacting polymers involving only carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds in the absence of non-macromolecular monomers.

Polymerisation processes, in bulk, in solution, in suspension, in emulsion, in gaseous or solid state, using regulators (e.g. chain terminators, retarders or short-stopping agents), in presence of compounding ingredients, or initiated by wave energy, particle radiation or electric current; including processes of polymerisation characterised by special features of the polymerisation apparatus used.

Polymerisation initiators or catalysts, e.g. Ziegler-Natta, anionic, cationic, redox or transition metal initiators or initiators for radiation polymerisation, or metallocenes.

Post-polymerisation treatments of the above types of polymers (but not of rubbers) including purification, catalyst removal and separating polymers from non-polymers.

Chemical modification of the above types of polymers (but not of rubbers) by after-treatment, e.g. oxidation, reduction, epoxidation, hydrolysis, halogenation or dehalogenation, sulfonation, cyclisation or partial depolymerisation.

**Glossary:** - addition polymers: polymers in which unsaturated monomer molecules join together to form a polymer in which the molecular formula of the repeat unit is identical (except for the double bond) with that of the monomer - aliphatic radical: an acyclic or non-aromatic carbocyclic carbon skeleton which is terminated by every bond to: a) an element other than carbon; b) a carbon atom having a double bond to one atom other than carbon or; c) an aromatic carbocyclic ring or a heterocyclic ring. CH 2 =CH-O-CH 2 -CH 2 -NH-COO-CH 2 -CH 2 -OH are classified in group C08F16/28 ; CH 2 =CH-CO-CH=CH 2 are classified in group C08F16/36 ; CH 2 =CH-C 6 H 4 -Cl are classified in group C08F12/18 . - block polymers: polymers formed by polymerisation of monomers on to a macromolecule having groups capable of inducing the formation of new polymer chains bound at one or both ends of the starting macromolecule, or by polymerisation using successively different catalyst types or successively different monomer systems without deactivating the intermediate polymer - condensation polymers: polymers in which water or some other simple molecule is eliminated from two or more monomer molecules as they combine to form the polymer or crosslinks between polymer chains. These polymers are generally in subclass C08G . - copolymers: usually denotes polymers of two chemically distinct monomers, and sometimes denotes polymers containing more than two types of monomer unit - graft polymers: macromolecular compounds obtained by polymerising monomers on to preformed polymers or on to inorganic materials. Such preformed polymers could be rubbers, polysaccharides, condensation polymers, homopolymers or copolymers of the addition polymer type. If groups other than ethylenically unsaturated bonds are involved in the reaction, like heteroatoms-containing groups, then the reaction is not an addition polymerisation. It is considered to be a chemical modification in the sense of group C08F8/00 and the product obtained is not a graft polymer according to subclass C08F . It is to be noted that, however, the products obtained by a coupling reaction as defined in group C08G81/00 are also called graft polymers. - homopolymers: polymers resulting from the polymerisation of one species of (real, implicit or hypothetically) monomers or polymers with a single type of repeating unit - repeat(ing) unit: the unit in an addition polymer which is repeated throughout the molecule; for example, in polyethylene, the repeat unit is: –CH 2 -CH 2 -