HDPE, LDPE and LLDPE
Polyethylene or polythene (IUPAC name poly(ethene) is a thermoplastic commodity heavily used in consumer products (notably the plastic shopping bag). Over 60 million tons of the material are produced worldwide every year.
Polyethylene is a polymer consisting of long chains of the monomer ethylene (IUPAC name ethene). The recommended scientific name polyethene is systematically derived from the scientific name of the monomer. In certain circumstances it is useful to use a structure–based nomenclature. In such cases IUPAC recommends poly(methylene). The difference is due to the opening up of the monomer’s double bond upon polymerisation.
Polyethylene is created through polymerization of ethene. It can be produced through radical polymerization, anionic addition polymerization, ion coordination polymerization or cationic addition polymerization. This is because ethene does not have any substituent groups that influence the stability of the propagation head of the polymer. Each of these methods results in a different type of polyethylene.
Space-filling model of a polyethylene chain
