Polymer Lab Investigation

Our initial hypothesis was "If we mix the given materials, then a rubbery substance will form, because sodium silicate is similar to glue."

But that was completely wrong.

After running through the experiment, we found that the polymer made today was very different from the wet, rubbery polymer made on Tuesday. But before explaining the results, let's talk about the observations made during the experiment.

"The Sodium Silicate Solution is similar to glue. It closely resembles the glue from a hot glue gun especially. When poured into a smaller beaker, ethanol is milky, though in its larger container it looked clear. The polymer of the two is hard, crumbly, and smells like nail polish remover. It has the consistency of sand. However, it starts to stick together when exposed to a little water, and then has the consistency of a citrus altoid. (One of these!) When rolled into a ball, it bounces higher than the polymer made Tuesday.

Our polymer-- we'll call him Richard-- was tested to see just how high it could bounce. At normal temperature, Richard bounced an average of twenty-one centimeters, while Richard bounced an average of 18.75 centimeters when chilled for about ten minutes.

Our hypothesis ended up being rejected, seeing as Richard was actually very hard as opposed to being wet, sticky, and moldable. Since sodium silicate is similar to glue, it would probably have turned rubbery had we mixed it with the borax we used on Tuesday.

Here is the polymer when being mixed. It almost looked like a mixture of liquid and plastic. By then, we could tell that a chemical reaction had taken place.

Here is the result, Richard. It was the complete opposite of what the lab group had expected. In the beginning, ethanol could be squeezed out of it.

The polymer made on Tuesday...

• Had a rubbery consistency.
• Molded easily.
• Dried when played with.
• Stuck to different surfaces.
• Bounced higher when chilled.

The polymer made today...

• Had a hard, plastic-like consistency, but could probably break apart with enough pressure.
• Could be molded into a ball, but probably nothing else.
• Dried before it was even touched.
• Didn't stick to anything.
• Didn't bounce as high as chilled.

Both polymers...

• Had a whitish color.
• Were able to bounce.
• Had some sort of molding capability.
• Dried out the hands.

Our polymer was pretty much the same as every other group's, which was a bit of a pain when trying to find individual polymers.

Most commercial polymers were carbon-based, though this one was silicon based. Silicon and carbon are very similar, so both will easily polymerize. The silicone polymer is exactly like any plastic polymer, but made with... well... silicone!

To sum this experiment up, I'd say it was rather interesting to see just how polymers are formed. It's easy enough to do at home!