A wide variety of heterochain polymers—that is, polymers in which the backbone contains elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, or silicon in addition to carbon—are in commercial use. Many of these compounds are complex in structure. In this section the major heterochain polymer families are presented in alphabetic order, with important representatives of each family described in turn. Aldehyde condensation polymers are compounds produced by the reaction of formaldehyde with phenol, urea, or melamine. The reaction is usually accompanied by the release of water and other by-products. The monomers have the following structures: The polymerization reactions of these monomers produce ...(100 of 14294 words)