1. Course number and name
CHME 464/564. Polymer Science and Engineering
2. Credits and contact hours
3 credit hours = 45 contact hours per semester
3. Instructor’s or course coordinator’s name
4. Text book, title, author, and year
- P. C. Hiemenz, T. P. Lodge, Polymer Chemistry, 2nd ed., CRC Press, Taylor & Francis, 2007 (recommended)
a. other supplemental materials
- P. C. Painter, M. M. Coleman, Essentials of Polymer Science and Engineering, DEStech Publications, Inc, 2008 (good for beginners)
- G. Odian, Principles of Polymerization, 4th ed., Wiley, 2007 (comprehensive details on polymerizations and kinetics)
5. Specific course information
a. catalog description: This course covers concepts in science and engineering of macromolecules, such as synthesis and chemistry, characterization of molecular weight, morphology, rheology, and mechanical behavior, structure and property relationships, and polymer processing.
b. prerequisites: CHME 361 or permission from instructor co-requisites: none
c. required, elective, or selected elective (as per Table 5-1): elective
6. Specific goals for the course
a. The student will be able to…
- describe the fundamental concepts in polymer science and engineering;
- analyze the microstructure and molecular weight of polymers;
- discuss the chemistry, importance and applications of natural polymers;
- interpret different synthesis methods of polymers;
- analyze the kinetics of polymerization;
- discuss the polymer rheology and viscoelastic behavior of polymers;
- explain the characterization and processing of polymers; and
- argue the selection of polymer and/or design a specific polymer for specific applications (through final project).
b. Criterion 3 Student Outcomes specifically addressed by this course are found in a mapping of outcomes against all CHME courses in the curriculum.
7. Brief list of topics to be covered
- The history of polymers (with organic chemistry refresher and reference to natural polymers)
- Polymer microstructure
- Molecular weight distribution of polymers
- Step-growth polymerization
- Chain polymerization
- Polymerization process (emulsion, suspension and multiphase)
- The kinetics of step-growth and chain polymerizations
- Characterization of polymers
- Rheological behavior of polymers
- Processing of polymers
Common Syllabus Addendum
The NMSU Department of Chemical Engineering maintains a syllabus addendum containing course requirements common to all courses with the CH E prefix online. This document is accessible from the URL: http://chme.nmsu.edu/academics/syllabi/chme-common-syllabus-addendum/
