Biobased polymers and elastomers derived from terpene monomers represent an emerging frontier in sustainable materials science. Terpenes, abundant natural hydrocarbons extracted from plant sources, ...

A new method allows chemists to precisely place single monomers at any position within a polymer chain made of other types of monomers. With this single monomer, chemists can add various types of ...

Researchers have found a way to create industrially important thermoset polymer and fiber-reinforced polymer composite products at considerably lower expense than has been possible before. The ...

Polymers are materials made of long, repeating chains of molecules. The materials have unique properties, depending on the type of molecules being bonded and how they are bonded. Some polymers bend ...

Northwestern Engineering synthetic biologists have expanded the capabilities of engineered ribosomes as a vehicle to synthesize novel biopolymers, setting the stage for developing new medications and ...

Researchers have used a light-sensitive iridium-palladium catalyst to make 'sequential' polymers, using visible light to change how different building blocks are combined into polymer chains. By ...

Cheap, strong, and versatile, plastic seemed like the perfect invention—until its staying power turned into a global headache ...

Drawing inspiration from nature, researchers are making polymers with ever-more precise compositions on demand. Using multistep synthesis tools pulled from biology, biochemistry and organic synthesis, ...

How Are Plastic Bottles Made? Plastics are made from oil or natural gas, which are made of molecules called hydrocarbons. When you heat hydrocarbons to very high temperatures, they break down into ...