Physical structure of ionomers [12]

Abstract

IONOMERS are plastics in which a copolymer of ethylene with an acid, such as methacrylic acid, is combined with a metal (unpublished results of R. W. Rees and D. J. Vaughan. What distinguishes ionomers from polyelectrolytes is that the ionic material forms a minor part of the whole, the remainder being substantially hydrocarbon. Thus the fully ionized sodium salt of polymethacrylic acid contains 21 per cent sodium whereas the ionomers typically contain less than 5 per cent. © 1968 Nature Publishing Group.