Alternate titles: PVA
https://www.britannica.com/science/polyvinyl-alcohol
Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations - Polyvinyl Alcohol
PVA is unique among polymers (chemical compounds made up of large, multiple-unit molecules) in that it is not built up in polymerization reactions from single-unit precursor molecules known as monomers. Instead, PVA is made by dissolving another polymer, polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), in an alcohol such as methanol and treating it with an alkaline catalyst such as sodium hydroxide. The resulting hydrolysis, or “alcoholysis,” reaction removes the acetate groups from the PVAc molecules without disrupting their long-chain structure. The chemical structure of the resulting vinyl alcohol repeating units is: .
major industrial polymers: Polyvinyl acetate (PVAc)
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a water-soluble polymer employed in textile and paper treatment, is made by hydrolyzing PVAc. Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) and polyvinyl formal (PVF) are manufactured from PVA by reaction with butyraldehyde (CH3CH2CH2CHO) and formaldehyde (CH2O), respectively. PVB is employed as a plastic film in…
resin, any natural or synthetic organic compound consisting of a noncrystalline or viscous liquid substance. Natural resins are typically fusible and flammable organic substances that are transparent or translucent and are yellowish to brown in colour. They are formed in plant secretions and are soluble in various organic liquids but…
polymer, any of a class of natural or synthetic substances composed of very large molecules, called macromolecules, that are multiples of simpler chemical units called monomers. Polymers make up many of the materials in living organisms, including, for example, proteins, cellulose, and nucleic acids. Moreover, they constitute the basis of…