How are alkenes used to make polymers?

1 Answer
Apr 8, 2016

Pressure and heat energy open the double bonds in the alkene and make it bond to form large polymer molecules.

Explanation:

Alkenes are unsaturated hydrocarbons, meaning they don't have all the hydrogen that they could do, because of the double bond between some of the carbons.

Under large amounts of energy - from heat and pressure specifically - the double bond in the alkene can open and bond to other now-opened alkenes in a polymerisation reaction.

http://www.scienceaid.co.uk/chemistry/organic/polymers.html

You can see the double bond opening in the image to form polyethene, a common plastic.