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Question:

Arrange the following polymers in decreasing order of their intermolecular forces: Bakelite, Polythene, Buna-S, Nylon-6,6

Solution:

As we know that elastomers (Buna-S) have weak intermolecular forces, fibres (Nylon-6,6) have dipole-dipole interaction, thermoplastics (Polythene) have intermolecular forces intermediate between elastomers and fibres and thermosetting polymers (Bakelite) undergoes permanent change on heating. Hence the decreasing order of intermolecular forces is- Bakelite > Nylon-6,6 > Polythene > Buna-S