[unsavedhero]

Ethylene: C₂H₄ is the monomer of polyethylene. My question is, how do the monomers form the polymer "polyethylene?" Do the hydrogens break off, allowing carbons to form bonds to one another forming long chains? Or does polyethylene form from intermolecular forces?? Thank You I'm just curious. It's not homework lol..uhhh just read the first section of the chapter and it explained it lol. but it says that the chains are made of several thousand monomers.. but then how do those chains stay together side by side to form actual materials?

[Borek]

Google "polymerization mechanism".

[unsavedhero]

yeah but what forces link polymers to one another? Like lets say you make a polymer out of 1000 monomers.. what keeps each actual polymer bound to an adjacent polymer? some sort of intermolecular forces?

[Enthalpy]

The double bond opens to make standard single C-C bonds in the chain. Between the chains, intermolecular forces.
A look at Wiki maybe?