Classification of polymers

A single polymer can be described from several independent angles at once, so chemists classify polymers along several separate axes rather than one single scheme. The main bases used are: the polymer's source or origin (where it comes from), its chemical/structural arrangement (how the chains are linked), its mode of polymerization (the type of chemical reaction that built it), the strength of the intermolecular forces holding its chains together (which fixes its mechanical behaviour), the number of distinct kinds of monomer used to build it, and whether or not it is biodegradable. Each of these six classification schemes is developed in its own numbered subsection below, and …