polymer chemistry experiments

How to Make a Bouncing Polymer Ball

Learn The Science Behind The Bounce

Anne Helmenstine

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• Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
• B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College

While balls have been used as toys forever, the bouncing ball is a more recent innovation. Bouncing balls were originally made of natural rubber, though they are now made of plastics and other polymers and even treated leather. You can use chemistry to make your own bouncing ball. Once you understand how to do so, you can alter the recipe to see how the chemical composition affects the bounciness and other characteristics of your creation.

The bouncing ball in this activity is made from a polymer. Polymers are molecules made up of repeating chemical units. Glue contains the polymer polyvinyl acetate (PVA), which cross-links to itself when reacted with borax .

Before you make bouncing polymer balls, you will need to gather a few materials:

• Borax (found in the laundry section of the store)
• Cornstarch (found in the baking section of the store)
• White glue (e.g., Elmer's glue, which makes an opaque ball) or blue or clear school glue (which makes a translucent ball)
• Food coloring (optional)
• Measuring spoons
• Spoon or craft stick (to stir the mixture)
• 2 small plastic cups or other containers (for mixing)
• Marking pen
• Metric ruler
• Zip-top plastic baggie

To make bouncing polymer balls, follow these steps:

• Label one cup "Borax Solution" and the other "Ball Mixture."
• Pour 2 tablespoons of warm water and 1/2 teaspoon of borax powder into the cup labeled "Borax Solution." Stir the mixture to dissolve the borax. Add food coloring if desired.
• Pour 1 tablespoon of glue into the cup labeled "Ball Mixture." Add 1/2 teaspoon of the borax solution you just made and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Do not stir. Allow the ingredients to interact on their own for 10-15 seconds and then stir them together to fully mix. Once the mixture becomes impossible to stir, take it out of the cup and start molding the ball with your hands.
• The ball will start out sticky and messy but will solidify as you knead it.
• Once the ball is less sticky, go ahead and bounce it.
• You can store your plastic ball in a sealed bag when you're finished playing with it.
• Don't eat the materials used to make the ball or the ball itself. Wash your work area, utensils, and hands after you have completed this activity.

Things to Try With Bouncing Polymer Balls

When you use the scientific method , you make observations before experimenting and testing a hypothesis. You've followed a procedure to make a bouncing ball. Now you can vary the procedure and use your observations to make predictions about the effect of the changes.

• Observations you can make and then compare as you change the composition of the ball include the diameter of the finished ball, how sticky it is, how long it takes the material to solidify into a ball, and how high it bounces.
• Experiment with the ratio between the amounts of glue , cornstarch, and borax. Adding more cornstarch will make a ball that stretches and bends. Using less borax will produce a "goopier" ball, while adding more glue will result in a slimier ball.

This activity is adapted from the American Chemical Society's "Meg A. Mole's Bouncing Ball," a featured project for National Chemistry Week 2005.

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Addition polymerisation with phenylethene

In association with Nuffield Foundation

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Use this practical or demonstration to produce polystyrene as an example of addition polymerisation

Alkenes (carbon compounds containing carbon–carbon double bonds) undergo addition reactions. In this experiment, students observe the reaction that takes place as molecules of phenylethene or styrene – the monomer – add on to each other to form the polymer polyphenylethene, commonly known as polystyrene. This process is started by adding a substance called a free-radical initiator.

Because examples of addition polymerisation are difficult to demonstrate, or for students to experience themselves, this experiment is important either as a teacher demonstration or as a class experiment. The latter is only suitable for particularly able and reliable students, given the hazards of the substances involved, and the careful handling required.

The experiment takes up to 60 minutes, and should not be left unattended. However, it should be possible to make use of some of the ‘watch and wait’ time for theoretical work, for example on addition polymerisation and addition polymers.

• Eye protection
• Disposable nitrile gloves
• Access to a fume cupboard
• Boiling tube, 150 x 25 mm
• Bung, one-holed, fitted with a 20 cm length of glass tubing (see the diagram below)
• Beakers, 100 cm 3 and 250 cm 3  (one of each)
• Glass stirring rod
• Stand and clamp
• Electric hotplate with thermostatic control
• Bunsen burner, tripod, gauze and heat resistant mat
• Phenylethene (styrene) (HARMFUL, FLAMMABLE), 5 cm 3 (see notes 3, 4 and 5 below)
• Di(dodecanoyl)peroxide (lauroyl peroxide) (OXIDISING), 0.1 g
• Ethanol (IDA – industrial denatured alcohol) (HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, HARMFUL), 50 cm 3 (see notes 7 and 9)

Health, safety and technical notes

• Read our standard health and safety guidance.
• Wear eye protection throughout, and use disposable nitrile gloves, particularly during the pre-treatment of phenylethene.
• Phenylethene vapour is narcotic in high concentrations, so this experiment must be carried out in a fume cupboard.
• Phenylethene (styrene), C 8 H 8 (l), (HARMFUL, FLAMMABLE) – see CLEAPSS Hazcard HC071 . Check that the stock of phenylethene is in good condition. In spite of the presence of an inhibitor, phenylethene in store will gradually polymerise and eventually turn solid in the bottle.
• For the pre-treatment of phenylethene (CAUTION: wear goggles and chemical resistant gloves for this procedure): most phenylethene samples contain 4-(dimethylethyl)-benzene-1,2-diol, (4-tert-butyl catechol) (HARMFUL) as an inhibitor. This needs to be removed by washing with 1 M sodium hydroxide solution, NaOH(aq), (CORROSIVE), then with water, in a separating funnel. The phenylethene then needs to be dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, Na 2 SO 4 (s), for 10 minutes. Wash all the apparatus used in propanone, CH 3 COCH 3 (l), (HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, IRRITANT) as soon as possible. 
• Di(dodecanoyl)peroxide (lauroyl peroxide), (CH 3 (CH 2 ) 10 CO) 2 O 2 (s), (OXIDISING) – see CLEAPSS Hazcard HC029 . 
• Ethanol (IDA – industrial denatured alcohol), C 2 H 5 OH(l), (HIGHLY FLAMMABLE, HARMFUL) – see CLEAPSS Hazcard HC040A . 
• The boiling water bath required can be set up more quickly using boiling water from an electric kettle, and kept boiling on a thermostatically-controlled electric hotplate. This is a safer alternative to the use of a Bunsen burner in this experiment.
• Provide a chemical waste collection container so that the ethanol washings can be collected and disposed of safely after the lesson. The polystyrene samples can be disposed of as normal waste.
• Prepare a 250 cm 3 beaker of boiling water to act as a water bath. If using a Bunsen burner, keep all other chemicals well away from the flame.
• Add 0.1 g of di(dodecanoyl) peroxide to 5 cm 3 of phenylethene in a boiling tube.
• Fit a bung carrying a 20 cm length of glass tubing in the top of the boiling tube. This minimises the escape of phenylethene vapour. Clamp the tube vertically in the boiling water bath so that the liquid in it is below the level of the hot water – see the diagram below.

Source: Royal Society of Chemistry

The set-up required for demonstrating addition polymerisation to produce polystyrene

• Heat for about 30 min until the liquid turns quite viscous, remove from the water bath and leave to cool.
• Extinguish all flames. Pour the contents of the tube into 50 cm 3 of ethanol in a beaker.
• Use a glass rod to push the poly(phenylethene) into a lump and pour off the ethanol.
• Dry the solid polymer on a filter paper.

Teaching notes

With the use of a powerful oxidising agent, and also flammable and harmful substances, there is need for eye protection, disposable gloves and a fume cupboard.

Students will need some theoretical background to addition reactions of unsaturated compounds and to polymerisation before this experiment. The reaction in this experiment is:

The structures of phenylethene (styrene) and polystyrene, with the latter formed by addition polymerisation

Poly(phenylethene) is of course better known as polystyrene. However, many students will relate the name ‘polystyrene’ to the foamed material, expanded polystyrene, and be less familiar with the glassy solid. Teachers may wish to have samples of objects made of solid polystyrene to show students. Possibilities include yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, clear egg boxes, food packaging trays, plastic cutlery and cups, clear plastic glasses, ball-point pen cases, CD cases and plastic coat hangers.

Look at the recycling code on such objects. Note that many of these also contain fillers, plasticisers, pigments and other components.

The brittle, glassy nature of pure polystyrene (consider a CD case) is due to the bulky benzene rings projecting from the side of the carbon chain, which limit the flexibility of the chain. However, it is also a remarkably strong material, leading to a very wide variety of applications.

The initiator, di(dodecanoyl)peroxide, has a peroxy group, –O–O–, in the middle of the molecule, between two large dodecanoyl, CH 3 (CH 2 ) 10 CO–, groups. This molecule splits readily at the O–O bond, leaving unpaired electrons on each of the oxygen atoms, resulting in the formation of two free radicals, CH 3 (CH 2 ) 10 COO . . It is these free radicals that attack and open the double bond in phenylethene, propagating a sequence of unpaired electrons at the end of the growing carbon chains. This is why only a tiny amount of initiator is needed to set off the reaction.

When the free radical initiator di(dodecanoyl) peroxide splits at the O–O bond, two free radicals are formed. These free radicals attack the double bond in phenylethene and set off the addition reaction.

Additional information

This is a resource from the  Practical Chemistry project , developed by the Nuffield Foundation and the Royal Society of Chemistry. This collection of over 200 practical activities demonstrates a wide range of chemical concepts and processes. Each activity contains comprehensive information for teachers and technicians, including full technical notes and step-by-step procedures. Practical Chemistry activities accompany  Practical Physics  and  Practical Biology .

© Nuffield Foundation and the Royal Society of Chemistry

• 11-14 years
• 14-16 years
• 16-18 years
• Practical experiments
• Demonstrations
• Reactions and synthesis

Specification

• Addition polymerisation is the name given to a chemical reaction in which unsaturated monomers are joined, forming a polymer.
• (k) nature of addition polymerisation and the economic importance of the polymers of alkenes and substituted alkenes
• (p) the addition polymerisation of ethene and other monomers to produce polythene, poly(propene), poly(vinylchloride) and poly(tetrafluoroethene)
• (o) the addition polymerisation of ethene and other monomers to produce polythene, poly(propene), poly(vinylchloride) and poly(tetrafluoroethene)
• 2.4.10 describe the addition polymerisation of alkenes, for example ethene and propene.
• Addition polymers. Monomers.
• Polymerisation of alkenes: poly(ethene) (low density and high density), poly(chloroethene), poly(phenylethene), poly(tetrafluoroethene), poly(propene).
• Demonstration of physical properties (density, flexibility, hardness) of poly(ethene), poly(chloroethene) and poly(phenylethene).
• The industrial and domestic importance and advantages of these polymers in plastics and fibres (two examples of uses of each polymer).

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January 5, 2012

Playing with Polymers

A creative chemical challenge from Science Buddies

By Science Buddies

Key concepts Chemistry Polymers Ratios Mixtures Introduction Have you ever wondered how fun toys like Silly Putty, Gak and Slime are made? It's the properties of polymers, certain kinds of large molecules, that make these products bouncy, slimy, stretchy, breakable, hard, soft, sticky, moldable—and just plain fun to play with. Polymers are found in a variety of materials that have a broad range of properties. Materials made from polymers can be found in nature, such as amber and natural rubber, or generated synthetically, such as nylon, silicone and all plastics. The unique physical and chemical properties of polymeric materials can change depending on the amount of each different ingredient used to make them. How will changing the ratio of ingredients affect how a polymeric material feels and behaves? Background You can make a polymer-based material similar to Silly Putty at home by mixing together water, borax and Elmer's Glue. Elmer's is made up of polyvinyl acetate, which is a synthetic polymer. A polymer is a long molecule that is mostly made up of many similar repeating units. In the case of polyvinyl acetate, each repeating unit contains an acetate group. Borax, which is a white powder made up of sodium tetraborate, can react with this acetate group. Specifically, one molecule of borax can react with acetate groups on two different polyvinyl acetate molecules (such as those from the glue), creating a bond between the two polyvinyl acetate molecules. Borax cross-links the polyvinyl acetate molecules together. The more cross-linked molecules, the larger the polymeric material that is made from the reaction. Additionally, as more cross-links are made, the more the polymeric material becomes less liquidlike and gains solidity. Materials Three zip-top bags Water Elmer's white school glue Borax (also called 20-Mule Team Borax household cleaner) Measuring cups Measuring tablespoons and teaspoons Two glass jars with lids Permanent marker Gloves, latex or similar style exam glove (optional) Goggles or other eye protection Preparation •    Children should wear goggles or other protective eyewear, and adults should supervise and use caution when handling borax because it can irritate eyes. •    In one glass jar add three tablespoons of water and three tablespoons of Elmer's Glue. Tightly secure the jar lid and shake it until the glue is fully diluted and no gooey clumps remain. Label this jar "Solution #1: 50 Percent Glue." •    In the second glass jar, add one half cup of warm water and one teaspoon of borax. Again, tightly secure the lid and shake it until no particles of borax remain and the solution is clear. Label this jar "Solution #2: 4 Percent Borax." •    The polymer material made in this activity can be sticky, so it should be kept off of clothing, wood and other rough surfaces that can be hard to clean. Also, the 50 percent glue solution and the glue–borax mixtures should not be poured down a drain because they can form clogs. Dispose of them in plastic bags. Procedure •    Take the three zip-top bags and label one "A," the next "B" and the third "C." •    From the jar containing Solution #1 (50 percent glue) add one tablespoon to bag A, two tablespoons to bag B and three tablespoons and one teaspoon to bag C. After adding Solution #1 to each bag, carefully set the bags so they will not spill over. •    From the Solution #2 (4 percent borax) jar add three tablespoons to bag A, two tablespoons to bag B and two teaspoons to bag C. Seal the bags closed. •     What are the ratios of the two solutions that were added to each bag? Which bag contains the most glue, and which contains the least? •    With the bags sealed closed, use your fingers to squish the mixtures around in each bag, mixing together the ingredients within the bag. Some bags may require more mixing than others. What do you observe happening within each bag? How are the resultant polymeric materials in each bag different from each other? •    After a mixture has formed a sticky glob, you can take it out of the bag. What physical properties can you describe for each material you've made? Are some materials runny, slimy, sticky, hard, soft, bouncy, etcetera? •    After investigating them, if you want to save your polymer products for later, put them back in their zip-top bags, seal them and store them in the refrigerator. •     Extra: Are there other ways to change the recipe in order to change the physical properties of the polymeric product? Try changing the percentages of glue in Solution #1 or of the borax in Solution #2 to see how that changes your product. Can you optimize the recipe in a new and different way to obtain different types of products? •     Extra: The protein gelatin found in Jell-O is also a polymer. What experiments could you conduct to explore the physical properties of other polymers, such as gelatin? Observations and results Did each bag have some solid product (a polymer material) take form inside of it after mixing? Did bag C contain the solidest polymeric material, and did bag A contain the most liquidlike one?

Elmer's Glue contains polyvinyl acetate molecules, which are long polymer molecules that are tangled with each other. This is what makes glue viscous, or thick and sticky. When borax (sodium tetraborate) is added to polyvinyl acetate and cross-links the latter's molecules to each other, the glue solution becomes more viscous.

As borax cross-links more and more of the glue molecules together and they become more viscous, an increasingly larger and solid polymeric material is made from the reaction. The bag with the least amount of glue, bag A, should have been the most liquidlike, whereas the bag with the largest amount of glue, bag C, should have been the solidest. Store-bought Silly Putty and Slime are not made using polyvinyl acetate, but rather from organosiloxane polymers or polyvinyl alcohol to increase their durability.

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Cleanup The 50 percent glue solution and the glue and borax mixtures should not be poured down drains as they can form clogs. Dispose of them in plastic bags that you can throw in the garbage.

More to explore " The Page That Dripped Slime " from Bizarre Stuff You Can Make in Your Kitchen " Silly Putty: Synthesizing a Polymer " (pdf) from Louisiana State University. " Making Things out of Polymers " from Polymer Science Learning Center, University of Southern Mississippi. " Bouncy Polymer Chemistry " from Science Buddies This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies

Browse Course Material

Course info, instructors.

• Mr. Harlan Breindel
• Prof. Paula Hammond

Departments

• Chemical Engineering

As Taught In

• Polymeric Materials
• Physical Chemistry

Polymer Science Laboratory

Course description.

Insta-worms

Activity length, activity type, make & take.

Students become polymer chemists who will make gelatinous worms.

Polysaccharides are polymers that are made by linking hundreds of glucose molecules. This activity uses sodium alginate, a polysaccharide polymer isolated from seaweed. The monomer glucose is sweet and dissolves easily in water but the polymer starch is not sweet and forms a thick, sticky paste in solution.

In this activity, the sodium alginate immediately changes from a liquid to a solid when it contacts the calcium chloride solution. The calcium (Ca++) ions replace the sodium (Na+) ions and link the polymer chains together — much like the rungs of a ladder link the two sides. The result does not dissloves (is insoluble) in the calcium chloride solution. The squishy stuff inside the ''worms'' is unreacted sodium alginate. If you leave the worm in the solution longer, more calcium ions will react and the worm's ''skin'' will get thicker.

Name some practical uses for polymers.

Describe in general terms what occurs during a polymerization reaction.

Investigate the properties of common polymers.

Per Pair or small Group: powdered calcium chloride sodium alginate solution or Gaviscon® water cups squirt bottles for the sodium alginate solution plastic baggies for each student

*Sodium alginate solution is available in pharmacies. An alternative is to use Gaviscon®, a heartburn remedy that has sodium alginate as a primary ingredient.

Teachers’ Source and Steve Spangler Science  sell a complete ‘’worm kit’’.

Key Questions

• How was the “worm” created?
• Which chemical is polymerizing in this reaction?
• Does your worm look similar or different to your partners’? Explain.
• Could these chemicals be useful in creating any other sort of polymers?
• Where is the substance starch found? In what? What do we use starch for?

Preparation:

• Make the calcium chloride solution: For each group of students, start with ¾ of a cup of warm water into a cup. Add a teaspoon of calcium chloride powder and stir with a spoon until most of the powder dissolves.
• Set up stations for each group of students. Make sure that each station has:
• Calcium chloride solution in a cup
• Sodium alginate solution in a squirt bottle
• Plastic sandwich bags (one per student)

Instructions (You may want to do a demonstration first):

• A small group (2–4) of students can share a cup of calcium chloride solution. Each student can make their own ‘’worm’’.
• Squirt a small stream of the sodium alginate solution into the cup containing the calcium chloride solution.
• Carefully pull the “worm” out of the calcium chloride solution with their hands. If the worm breaks, the gooey end can go back into the calcium chloride solution to seal it up.
• Store the ‘’worm’’ in a sandwich bag.
• Wash excess calcium chloride solution down the sink.
• What happens if you use more or less calcium chloride powder when making the CaCl2 solution? Do your worms still form?
• Make colourful worms by adding food colouring to the sodium alginate.

Other Resources

University of Southern Mississippi | Polymer Science Learning Center | Make a Virtual Polymer

About the sticker

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

Comet Crisp

T-Rex and Baby

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Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

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From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

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10 Awesome Chemistry Experiments for High School Students

The subject of chemistry is one subject that sends shivers down the spines of students, and sometimes even parents(maybe when they remember their own high school days). Yet chemistry is everywhere, right from the food we eat to the pharmaceuticals we use and the cosmetics we are so fond of.

Therefore, performing certain fun-filled experiments with our high schoolers is a sure-shot way to get the fear of chemistry out of their minds. Where fear stops, curiosity is aroused. Hence, let the learning begin.

Fun-filled chemistry experiments for high school students

1. mystical cloud.

To create the mystical cloud, perform the following steps:

• In an opaque bottle, mix 30% hydrogen peroxide. 
• Lower a tea bag containing potassium iodide into the bottle. 
• The exothermic reaction between the hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide will rapidly release oxygen gas, forming a large, mystical-looking cloud in the bottle.

Explanation:

This experiment demonstrates the chemical reaction that produces the cloud, as well as the concept of gas formation. The opaque bottle creates a dramatic visual effect, making the cloud appear “mystical.” 

This mystical cloud experiment is sure to catch the eye, as well as the young minds of our high schoolers and get them started on the chemistry journey!

2. Dancing spaghetti experiment

Here is how to do the dancing spaghetti chemistry experiment:

• Pour 1 cup of water into a tall clear glass and add 2 teaspoons of baking soda. Stir until the baking soda is fully dissolved.
• Break uncooked spaghetti noodles into 1-inch pieces and place about 6 pieces into the glass. The spaghetti will sink to the bottom.
• Add 5 teaspoons of vinegar to the glass. Observe as the spaghetti pieces start to rise up and “dance” around due to the chemical reaction between the baking soda and vinegar producing carbon dioxide gas bubbles.
• As the spaghetti dance slows down, add a bit more vinegar to keep the reaction going and the spaghetti dancing.

The spaghetti dances because the carbon dioxide bubbles attach to the rough surface of the noodles, decreasing their density so they float up. When the bubbles pop at the surface, the spaghetti sinks again until more bubbles form. This demonstrates the principles of buoyancy and chemical reactions.

This dancing spaghetti experiment will help the student understand the magic of chemistry in lifting the spirits of scientific inquiry.

3. Bouncy balls to explore polymer properties

Steps to make the bouncy balls:

• Mix 3 level spoonfuls of Elmer’s glue (which contains the polymer polyvinyl acetate), with 5 mL of water and 1 level spoonful of borax powder(which forms cross-links between the polymer chains). Allow to interact for 10-15 seconds before stirring.
• Once the mixture becomes difficult to stir, remove it from the container and knead it with your hands. The ball will start to be sticky and messy but will solidify as you knead it.
• Record observations about the ball’s appearance, stretchiness, and bounciness.
• Try varying the amounts of glue, water, and borax, or adding cornstarch to see how it affects the final bouncy ball properties.

This experiment allows students to explore how changing the polymer composition and cross-linking affects the physical properties of the resulting material. It’s a great hands-on way to learn about the versatile nature of polymers.

The bouncy balls are an exciting and fun-filled experiment to understand everyday applications of chemistry.

4. Colourful flames experiment

Here are some ways to create colorful flames by adding different chemicals :

• Sprinkle salts like sodium chloride (table salt), copper(II) chloride, strontium chloride, or barium nitrate into an alcohol flame to produce yellow, green, red, or blue colors. The heat excites the atoms in the salts, causing them to emit characteristic colored light as the electrons return to their ground state.
• Soak wood chips or sawdust in solutions of metal salts like copper sulfate (blue-green), strontium chloride (red), lithium chloride (pink), or boric acid (green). Allow to dry, then toss the treated chips onto a campfire to produce colored flames.
• Embed metal salts into paraffin wax to make “colored fire wax cakes”. Melt wax in a double boiler, mix in the desired salts, pour into cupcake liners, and let harden. Toss the wax cakes onto a fire for long-lasting colored flames.

Explanation :

The colors produced depend on the specific metal ions present. Sodium gives yellow, copper gives blue-green, strontium gives red, and barium gives green flames. The colors are produced because the metal ions in the salts emit light at specific wavelengths when heated in the flame. This is the same principle used to create colored fireworks

Creating colorful flames by adding different chemicals to a flame is a beautiful rainbow experiment to spark an igniting and everlasting flame of interest for chemistry.

5. Extracting anthocyanin pigment from red cabbage to create a natural pH indicator

To extract anthocyanin pigment from red cabbage and create a natural pH indicator, follow these steps:

• Chop red cabbage leaves into fine pieces to allow the water to extract the anthocyanins.
• Add the chopped cabbage to a pot and cover with distilled water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Filter the solution through a coffee filter or strainer to remove the cabbage pieces, leaving just the anthocyanin-infused water
• (Optional) Boil off 20-50% of the solution to concentrate the anthocyanins for more vibrant colors.5
• Use the anthocyanin solution to test the pH of various household substances:
• Acids like lemon juice, vinegar, and grapefruit juice will turn the solution red.
• Neutral substances like water will keep the solution blue or purple
• Bases like baking soda and ammonia will turn the solution green or yellow.

The anthocyanin pigments change color due to a chemical reaction that occurs at different pH levels. This natural pH indicator provides a fun way to explore acids, bases, and neutrals.

This red cabbage experiment thus is an exciting experiment to familiarise the students with the entire spectrum of pH with its acids, bases, and neutrals!

6. Elephant toothpaste experiment

The key steps to form the elephant toothpaste foam are:

• Mix 1/2 cup of 3% hydrogen peroxide with a squirt of dish soap in a plastic bottle.
• Add a few drops of food coloring if desired.
• In a separate cup, mix 1 tablespoon of yeast with 3 tablespoons of warm water. Stir for 30 seconds.
• Quickly pour the yeast mixture into the bottle and watch the foamy reaction erupt.

The reaction occurs because the catalyst (yeast or potassium iodide) speeds up the decomposition of the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen gas. The dish soap traps the oxygen bubbles, creating a dramatic foaming effect. The reaction continues as long as there is hydrogen peroxide and a catalyst remaining.

Thus, this exothermic reaction creates the elephant toothpaste, as well as exponentially engages the curiosity of the students performing the experiment.

7. Chromatography with coffee filters

Chromatography with coffee filters is a simple science experiment that demonstrates the separation of colors in ink or dye. To do this experiment:

• Draw a circle with a washable marker on a coffee filter, leaving the center blank. Fold the filter into a triangle. 
• Suspend the folded filter in a cup of water, making sure only the tip touches the water. The water will travel up the filter, separating the colors in the marker. 
• After 15-30 minutes, the colors will separate and become visible on the filter. Common results show blue, green, and red/pink colors emerging from the original black marker. 

This experiment works because of capillary action and chromatography – the water carries the water-soluble dye molecules at different rates through the filter material. However, it is important to remember that Permanent markers do not work as well since their dyes are not water-soluble. 

The separation of colors provides a spectacular result that will surely capture the imagination of young minds!

8. Lava lamp experiment

Steps to create the spectacular lava lamp:

• Fill a clear plastic bottle about 1/4 full with water. Pour vegetable oil into the bottle until it is almost full, then wait a couple of minutes for the oil and water to separate.
• Add a few drops of food coloring, which will sink through the oil, and mix with the water
• Break an Alka-Seltzer tablet into pieces and drop them into the bottle. The tablet will sink to the bottom, start dissolving, and release carbon dioxide gas bubbles.
• The bubbles will attach to the colored water blobs, making them float to the top. When the bubbles pop, the colored water will sink back down.

The lava lamp works because oil is less dense than water, so it floats on top. The food coloring has the same density as water, so it sinks through the oil. The gas bubbles from the Alka-Seltzer are lighter than water, so they float up, bringing the colored water with them

Fun tip: To keep the lava lamp going, just drop in another piece of Alka-Seltzer tablet when the bubbling slows down. Your evergreen lava lamp may just spark a permanent love for all chemicals and chemistry!

9. Magic milk experiment

The magic milk experiment demonstrates how soap interacts with the fats and proteins in milk:

• The magic milk experiment involves pouring milk into a shallow dish and then adding food coloring. 
• It is followed by touching a cotton swab dipped in dish soap to the surface of the milk. This causes the food coloring to swirl and dance around, creating a colorful “fireworks” effect.

The reason this happens is that the soap molecules have a hydrophilic (water-loving) end and a hydrophobic (water-fearing) end. When the soap touches the milk, the hydrophobic ends attach to the fat molecules, causing them to move around rapidly. The food coloring gets swept up in this motion, resulting in a colorful display. 

Another way to get even more creative with the experiment is to try it with different types of milk to see how the fat content affects the results. The more fat in the milk, the more dramatic the color display will be, and faster your student will be fascinated with chemistry!

10. Ammonia fountain experiment

The ammonia fountain experiment demonstrates the high solubility of ammonia gas in water due to hydrogen bonding. Here’s how it works:

• A flask is filled with dry ammonia gas by heating a mixture of calcium hydroxide and ammonium chloride.
• Water is injected into the flask through a syringe, causing the ammonia gas to rapidly dissolve. This creates a partial vacuum inside the flask.
• The external atmospheric pressure forces water up a tube and out through a jet, creating a fountain effect. The ammonia solution is alkaline, so adding a pH indicator like phenolphthalein turns it pink.
• As more ammonia dissolves, the pressure inside the flask drops further, causing the fountain to continue for several minutes.

This experiment illustrates the concepts of solubility, gas laws, and acid-base chemistry at an introductory level. It can also be done with other highly soluble gases like hydrogen chloride.

The ammonia fountain experiment will surely skyrocket your high schooler’s interest in chemistry experiments and the various explanations of the world it opens to them.

Chemistry is often referred to as the “central science” because it connects various fields, including physics, biology, and environmental sciences. Thus, it is absolutely imperative that students not view it as a textbook roadblock on the way to graduation. Rather, it should be seen as an exciting hiking trip that will become more adventurous while passing each milestone. 

The same holds true for physics. And we can prove to you that physics can be fun too with these physics experiments for high school students!

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68 Best Chemistry Experiments: Learn About Chemical Reactions

Whether you’re a student eager to explore the wonders of chemical reactions or a teacher seeking to inspire and engage your students, we’ve compiled a curated list of the top 68 chemistry experiments so you can learn about chemical reactions.

While the theories and laws governing chemistry can sometimes feel abstract, experiments bridge the gap between these concepts and their tangible manifestations. These experiments provide hands-on experiences illuminating the intricacies of chemical reactions, molecular structures, and elemental properties.

1. Covalent Bonds

By engaging in activities that demonstrate the formation and properties of covalent bonds, students can grasp the significance of these bonds in holding atoms together and shaping the world around us.

Learn more: Covalent Bonds

2. Sulfuric Acid and Sugar Demonstration

Through this experiment, students can develop a deeper understanding of chemical properties, appreciate the power of chemical reactions, and ignite their passion for scientific exploration.

3. Make Hot Ice at Home

Making hot ice at home is a fascinating chemistry experiment that allows students to witness the captivating transformation of a liquid into a solid with a surprising twist.

4. Make a Bouncing Polymer Ball

This hands-on activity not only allows students to explore the fascinating properties of polymers but also encourages experimentation and creativity.

Learn more: Thought Co

5. Diffusion Watercolor Art

This experiment offers a wonderful opportunity for students to explore the properties of pigments, observe how they interact with water, and discover the mesmerizing patterns and textures that emerge.

Learn more: Diffusion Watercolor Art

6. Exploding Baggie

The exploding baggie experiment is a captivating and dynamic demonstration that students should engage in with caution and under the supervision of a qualified instructor.

Learn more: Exploding Baggie

7. Color Changing Chemistry Clock

This experiment not only engages students in the world of chemical kinetics but also introduces them to the concept of a chemical clock, where the color change acts as a timekeeping mechanism.

Learn more: Color Changing Chemistry Clock

8. Pipe Cleaner Crystal Trees

By adjusting the concentration of the Borax solution or experimenting with different pipe cleaner arrangements, students can customize their crystal trees and observe how it affects the growth patterns.

Learn more: Pipe Cleaner Crystal Trees

9. How To Make Ice Sculptures

Through this experiment, students gain a deeper understanding of the physical and chemical changes that occur when water freezes and melts.

Learn more: Ice Sculpture

10. How to Make Paper

Through this hands-on activity, students gain a deeper understanding of the properties of cellulose fibers and the transformative power of chemical reactions.

Learn more: How to Make Paper

11. Color Changing Chemistry

Color changing chemistry is an enchanting experiment that offers a captivating blend of science and art. Students should embark on this colorful journey to witness the mesmerizing transformations of chemicals and explore the principles of chemical reactions.

12. Gassy Banana

The gassy banana experiment is a fun and interactive way for students to explore the principles of chemical reactions and gas production.

Learn more: Gassy Banana

13. Gingerbread Man Chemistry Experiment

This hands-on activity not only introduces students to the concepts of chemical leavening and heat-induced reactions but also allows for creativity in decorating and personalizing their gingerbread creations.

Learn more: Gingerbread Man Chemistry Experiment

14. Make Amortentia Potion

While the love potion is fictional, this activity offers a chance to explore the art of potion-making and the chemistry behind it.

Learn more: How to Make Amortentia Potion

15. Strawberry DNA Extraction

This hands-on experiment offers a unique opportunity to observe DNA, the building blocks of life, up close and learn about its structure and properties.

16. Melting Snowman

The melting snowman experiment is a fun and whimsical activity that allows students to explore the principles of heat transfer and phase changes.

Learn more: Melting Snowman

17. Acid Base Cabbage Juice

The acid-base cabbage juice experiment is an engaging and colorful activity that allows students to explore the pH scale and the properties of acids and bases.

By extracting the purple pigment from red cabbage leaves and creating cabbage juice, students can use this natural indicator to identify and differentiate between acidic and basic substances.

Learn more: Acid Base Cabbage Juice

18. Magic Milk

The magic milk experiment is a mesmerizing and educational activity that allows students to explore the concepts of surface tension and chemical reactions.

By adding drops of different food colors to a dish of milk and then introducing a small amount of dish soap, students can witness a captivating display of swirling colors and patterns.

Learn more: Magic Milk

19. Melting Ice with Salt and Water

Through this hands-on activity, students can gain a deeper understanding of the science behind de-icing and how different substances can influence the physical properties of water.

Learn more: Melting Ice with Salt and Water

20. Barking Dog Chemistry Demonstration

The barking dog chemistry demonstration is an exciting and visually captivating experiment that showcases the principles of combustion and gas production.

21. How to Make Egg Geodes

Making egg geodes is a fascinating and creative chemistry experiment that students should try. By using common materials like eggshells, salt, and food coloring, students can create their own beautiful geode-like crystals.

Learn more: How to Make Egg Geodes

22. Make Sherbet

This experiment not only engages the taste buds but also introduces concepts of acidity, solubility, and the chemical reactions that occur when the sherbet comes into contact with moisture.

Learn more: Make Sherbet

23. Hatch a Baking Soda Dinosaur Egg

As the baking soda dries and hardens around the toy, it forms a “shell” resembling a dinosaur egg. To hatch the egg, students can pour vinegar onto the shell, causing a chemical reaction that produces carbon dioxide gas.

Learn more: Steam Powered Family

24. Chromatography Flowers

By analyzing the resulting patterns, students can gain insights into the different pigments present in flowers and the science behind their colors.

Learn more: Chromatography Flowers

25. Turn Juice Into Solid

Turning juice into a solid through gelification is an engaging and educational chemistry experiment that students should try. By exploring the transformation of a liquid into a solid, students can gain insights of chemical reactions and molecular interactions.

Learn more: Turn Juice into Solid

26. Bouncy Balls

Making bouncy balls allows students to explore the fascinating properties of polymers, such as their ability to stretch and rebound.

 27. Make a Lemon Battery

Creating a lemon battery is a captivating and hands-on experiment that allows students to explore the fundamentals of electricity and chemical reactions.

28. Mentos and Soda Project

The Mentos and soda project is a thrilling and explosive experiment that students should try. By dropping Mentos candies into a bottle of carbonated soda, an exciting eruption occurs.

29. Alkali Metal in Water

The reaction of alkali metals with water is a fascinating and visually captivating chemistry demonstration.

30. Rainbow Flame

The rainbow flame experiment is a captivating and visually stunning chemistry demonstration that students should explore.

31. Sugar Yeast Experiment

This experiment not only introduces students to the concept of fermentation but also allows them to witness the effects of a living organism, yeast, on the sugar substrate.

32. The Thermite Reaction

The thermite reaction is a highly energetic and visually striking chemical reaction that students can explore with caution and under proper supervision.

This experiment showcases the principles of exothermic reactions, oxidation-reduction, and the high temperatures that can be achieved through chemical reactions.

33. Polishing Pennies

Polishing pennies is a simple and enjoyable chemistry experiment that allows students to explore the concepts of oxidation and cleaning methods.

34. Elephant Toothpaste

The elephant toothpaste experiment is a thrilling and visually captivating chemistry demonstration that students should try with caution and under the guidance of a knowledgeable instructor.

35. Magic Potion

Creating a magic potion is an exciting and imaginative activity that allows students to explore their creativity while learning about the principles of chemistry.

36. Color Changing Acid-Base Experiment

Through the color changing acid-base experiment, students can gain a deeper understanding of chemical reactions and the role of pH in our daily lives.

Learn more: Color Changing Acid-Base Experiment

37. Fill up a Balloon

Filling up a balloon is a simple and enjoyable physics experiment that demonstrates the properties of air pressure. By blowing air into a balloon, you can observe how the balloon expands and becomes inflated.

38. Jello and Vinegar

The combination of Jello and vinegar is a fascinating and tasty chemistry experiment that demonstrates the effects of acid on a gelatin-based substance.

Learn more: Jello and Vinegar

39. Vinegar and Steel Wool Reaction

This experiment not only provides a visual demonstration of the oxidation process but also introduces students to the concept of corrosion and the role of acids in accelerating the process.

Learn more: Vinegar and Steel Wool Reaction

40. Dancing Rice

The dancing rice experiment is a captivating and educational demonstration that showcases the principles of density and buoyancy.

By pouring a small amount of uncooked rice into a clear container filled with water, students can witness the rice grains moving and “dancing” in the water.

Learn more: Dancing Rice

41. Soil Testing Garden Science

Soil testing is a valuable and informative experiment that allows students to assess the composition and properties of soil.

By collecting soil samples from different locations and analyzing them, students can gain insights into the nutrient content, pH level, and texture of the soil.

Learn more: Soil Testing Garden Science

42. Heat Sensitive Color Changing Slime

Creating heat-sensitive color-changing slime is a captivating and playful chemistry experiment that students should try.

Learn more: Left Brain Craft Brain

43. Experimenting with Viscosity

Experimenting with viscosity is an engaging and hands-on activity that allows students to explore the flow properties of liquids.

Viscosity refers to a liquid’s resistance to flow, and this experiment enables students to investigate how different factors affect viscosity.

Learn more: Experimenting with Viscosity

44. Rock Candy Science

Rock candy science is a delightful and educational chemistry experiment that students should try. By growing their own rock candy crystals, students can learn about crystal formation and explore the principles of solubility and saturation.

Learn more: Rock Candy Science

45. Baking Soda vs Baking Powder

Baking soda and baking powder have distinct properties that influence the leavening process in different ways.

This hands-on experiment provides a practical understanding of how these ingredients interact with acids and moisture to create carbon dioxide gas.

46. Endothermic and Exothermic Reactions Experiment

The endothermic and exothermic reactions experiment is an exciting and informative chemistry exploration that students should try.

By observing and comparing the heat changes in different reactions, students can gain a deeper understanding of energy transfer and the concepts of endothermic and exothermic processes.

Learn more: Education.com

47. Diaper Chemistry

By dissecting a diaper and examining its components, students can uncover the chemical processes that make diapers so effective at absorbing and retaining liquids.

Learn more: Diaper Chemistry

48. Candle Chemical Reaction

The “Flame out” experiment is an intriguing and educational chemistry demonstration that students should try. By exploring the effects of a chemical reaction on a burning candle, students can witness the captivating moment when the flame is extinguished.

49. Make Curds and Whey

This experiment not only introduces students to the concept of acid-base reactions but also offers an opportunity to explore the science behind cheese-making.

Learn more: Tinkerlab

50. Grow Crystals Overnight

By creating a supersaturated solution using substances like epsom salt, sugar, or borax, students can observe the fascinating process of crystal growth. This experiment allows students to explore the principles of solubility, saturation, and nucleation.

Learn more: Grow Crystals Overnight

51. Measure Electrolytes in Sports Drinks

The “Measure Electrolytes in Sports Drinks” experiment is an informative and practical chemistry activity that students should try.

By using simple tools like a multimeter or conductivity probe, students can measure the electrical conductivity of different sports drinks to determine their electrolyte content.

52. Oxygen and Fire Experiment

The oxygen and fire experiment is a captivating and educational chemistry demonstration that students should try. By observing the effects of oxygen on a controlled fire, students can witness the essential role of oxygen in supporting combustion.

53. Electrolysis Of Water

The electrolysis of water experiment is a captivating and educational chemistry demonstration that students should try.

Learn more: Electrolysis Of Water

54. Expanding Ivory Soap

The expanding Ivory Soap experiment is a fun and interactive chemistry activity that students should try. By placing a bar of Ivory soap in a microwave, students can witness the remarkable expansion of the soap as it heats up.

Learn more: Little Bins Little Hands

55. Glowing Fireworks

This experiment not only introduces students to the principles of pyrotechnics and combustion but also encourages observation, critical thinking, and an appreciation for the physics and chemistry behind.

Learn more: Glowing Fireworks

56. Colorful Polymer Chemistry

Colorful polymer chemistry is an exciting and vibrant experiment that students should try to explore polymers and colorants.

By combining different types of polymers with various colorants, such as food coloring or pigments, students can create a kaleidoscope of colors in their polymer creations.

Learn more: Colorful Polymer Chemistry

57. Sulfur Hexafluoride- Deep Voice Gas

This experiment provides a firsthand experience of how the density and composition of gases can influence sound transmission.

It encourages scientific curiosity, observation, and a sense of wonder as students witness the surprising transformation of their voices.

58. Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream

Liquid nitrogen ice cream is a thrilling and delicious chemistry experiment that students should try. By combining cream, sugar, and flavorings with liquid nitrogen, students can create ice cream with a unique and creamy texture.

59. White Smoke Chemistry Demonstration

The White Smoke Chemistry Demonstration provides an engaging and visually captivating experience for students to explore chemical reactions and gases. By combining hydrochloric acid and ammonia solutions, students can witness the mesmerizing formation of white smoke.

60. Nitrogen Triiodide Chemistry Demonstration

The nitrogen triiodide chemistry demonstration is a remarkable and attention-grabbing experiment that students should try under the guidance of a knowledgeable instructor.

By reacting iodine crystals with concentrated ammonia, students can precipitate nitrogen triiodide (NI3), a highly sensitive compound.

61. Make a Plastic- Milk And Vinegar Reaction Experiment

Through the “Make a Plastic – Milk and Vinegar Reaction” experiment, students can gain a deeper understanding of the chemistry behind plastics, environmental sustainability, and the potential of biodegradable materials.

Learn more: Rookie Parenting

62. Eno and Water Experiment

This experiment not only introduces students to acid-base reactions but also engages their senses as they witness the visible and audible effects of the reaction.

63. The Eternal Kettle Experiment

By filling a kettle with alcohol and igniting it, students can investigate the behavior of the alcohol flame and its sustainability.

64. Coke and Chlorine Bombs

Engaging in this experiment allows students to experience the wonders of chemistry firsthand, making it an ideal choice to ignite their curiosity and passion for scientific exploration.

65. Set your Hand on Fire

This experiment showcases the fascinating nature of combustion and the science behind fire.

By carefully following proper procedures and safety guidelines, students can witness firsthand how the sanitizer’s high alcohol content interacts with an open flame, resulting in a brief but captivating display of controlled combustion.

66. Instant Ice Experiments

The Instant Ice Experiment offers an engaging and captivating opportunity for students to explore the wonders of chemistry and phase changes.

By using simple household ingredients, students can witness the fascinating phenomenon of rapid ice formation in just a matter of seconds.

67. Coke Cans in Acid and Base

Engaging in this experiment allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the chemical properties of substances and the importance of safety protocols in scientific investigations.

68. Color Changing Invisible Ink

The Color Changing Invisible Ink experiment offers an intriguing and fun opportunity for students to explore chemistry and learn about the concept of chemical reactions.

Learn more: Research Parent

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Teaching Resources & Guides > Worksheets & Printables > Learn About Reactions & Polymers  

Learn About Reactions & Polymers

Have you ever wondered why some things fizz, bubble, foam, or change shapes or colors when you mix them together? Here you will learn the science behind some very cool reactions – and you can even try them out at home (start with this Basic Chemistry Set )!

Crazy Chemistry Projects

Up, up, and away.

Well, your balloon might not quite fly away in this experiment, but you can make it inflate by creating a reaction in a bottle.

What You Need:

• 1 packet (or 2 teaspoons) of active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1 cup of warm water
• A clean, empty plastic bottle (the kind soda or water comes in)
• A sheet of paper

What You Do:

1. Stretch the balloon out by blowing it up and releasing the air three times.

2. Pour the warm water into the bottle. Make a funnel by rolling a piece of paper into a cone shape, then put the pointed end into the mouth of the bottle. Pour the sugar into the bottle through your funnel. Put the cap on and shake the bottle until most of the sugar has dissolved. Take the cap off.

3. Put your funnel in the mouth of the bottle and pour the yeast in so that it floats on top of the sugar water.

4. Quickly attach the balloon to the mouth of the bottle.

5. Set the bottle in a place where it won’t be disturbed and write in your notebook what time it is.

6. Go back and check the bottle after two minutes and write down changes you see to the liquid in the bottle or to the balloon.

7. Check it again in five minutes and write down any changes. If it doesn’t look like much is happening, leave it for about 15 minutes and then look at it again.

8. Continue to check on the bottle and balloon about every 15 minutes. The reaction may continue for up to several hours. Watch closely and write down any changes you notice!

What Happened:

Now that you know how it works, you might want to try the experiment with other types of sugar mixtures. What do you think would happen if you used your favorite soda or juice instead of the sugar water?

So, if yeast and sugar react this way in a bottle, what happens when you bake with them? Well, the same thing happens, it just looks a little different. Bread and many other baked goods are made from yeast. The yeast reacts with the sugar in the dough and releases carbon dioxide, which creates tiny air bubbles that pop and leave air pockets as the dough bakes into bread. You can get a closer look at the air pockets left behind in a slice of bread .

• Food coloring
• Borax powder
• Glass or ceramic bowl
• Small mixing bowl or cup
• Measuring cup
• Measuring spoon
• Mixing spoon or popsicle stick
• A square of chocolate

1. Measure 1 cup of water into the small bowl or cup and add the Borax powder. Stir it well and set it aside. You just made a solution of Borax.

2. Rinse your stirring spoon to get all of the Borax solution off of it.

3. In the larger bowl, measure 1/2 a cup of water and 1/2 a cup of white glue. Stir it well until it is all mixed together.

4. If you want colored slime, add 2-3 drops of food coloring to the glue mixture now.

5. Pour the Borax solution that you made in step one into the glue mixture and start stirring. You should see a big clump form in the colored glue right away, just keep stirring though until the clump has picked up as much of the liquid around it as it can.

6. Now comes the fun part – set your spoon aside and pick up the slime with your hands. Keep it over the bowl and knead it like dough, working it between your fingers. As you play with it, the slime will dry off on your hands and will become less slimy and more like putty.

7. Keep your slime in a plastic zip-lock bag in the fridge when you are not playing with it.

There are lots different types of polymers, including plastic, rubber, Jell-O, glue, camera film, materials such as nylon, and even natural fibers from wood and cotton. This polymer has properties of a solid and a liquid at once. Compare your polymer to a solid object – a piece of chocolate. Break the chocolate in half. Try quickly breaking the wad of slime in half. Did you get a clean break similar to the way the chocolate broke? To see how it is also like a liquid, try slowly stretching the blob out between your hands. You can’t do that with a solid piece of chocolate! The polymer is showing its liquid properties when you stretch it slowly. Now set the slime back into the bowl you made it in and watch what happens. It should flatten out to fill the bottom of the bowl, similar to a liquid like pancake batter would do.

Slime Science Lesson

Chemical reactions.

There are all sorts of reactions going on around us each day. A chemical reaction  is something that happens when two or more substances come into contact with each other. One substance combines with another and creates a whole ew substance that wasn’t there when the reaction started. Different types of reactions can happen depending on the substances that are put together. Sometimes a little of the original ingredients will be left over after the reaction, and sometimes more than one new substance will be formed in the reaction. In Up, Up, and Away! the yeast reacted with the warm sugar-water and produced carbon dioxide , which you could see filling up the balloon.

• Digestion – whenever you eat, your body uses many different and very complex chemical reactions to break down the food and convert it into energy and other things that your body needs! (You can learn  more about digestion on this page .)
• Combustion – fire is another type of chemical reaction, called combustion. It needs oxygen , fuel, and heat in order to exist and the reaction creates light, heat, and smoke.
• Oxidation – rust is a chemical reaction that you might see happening somewhere around you. Sometimes a reddish-colored layer will form on iron or steel (types of metal) when the metal reacts with oxygen in the air. Most iron and steel is treated to prevent it from rusting, though, so you usually only find rust on old pieces of metal that have been in contact with a lot of water and have gradually rusted over several years. When an apple turns brown after you bite into it, that is oxidation, too. An enzyme in the flesh part of the apple reacts with oxygen from the air and turns the apple brown.

In the slime experiment above, you learned what a polymer  is – a long chain of hundreds or thousands of tiny molecules. The slime you made is an interesting type of polymer that can act like a solid or a liquid depending on how it is handled. There are lots and lots of polymers in our world. Some are natural and some are made by humans, or synthetic . Here are a few examples of polymers:

• Plastic is one of the most common polymers. There are lots of different types of plastics that have very different properties – some plastics are flexible and can be bent (like a plastic bag or a toothpaste tube) and some are very solid and would split or crack if you tried to bend them (like a plastic plate or a CD).
• Fabric such as rayon, nylon, and polyester that are used for making clothes such as shirts, sweaters, and socks.
• Natural polymers – one of the most important natural polymers is DNA, the protein in your cells that makes you who you are! Some other things that come from naturally-occurring polymers are cotton, silk, rubber, paper, and leather. Rubber comes from a natural source – a plant! Before it can be used though, it has to be processed.

For more information and project ideas for teaching kids about polymers, check out our Polymer and Slime Experiments page .

Science Words

Chemical reaction – when two or more substances come into contact and form a new substance.

Carbon Dioxide – a gas that is in the air on earth, but in very small amounts. Plants need it in order to live; they use it to covert sunlight into food. Humans breathe out carbon dioxide when we exhale. In chemistry, it is abbreviated CO 2 , which means that is has one carbon atom and two oxygen atoms.

Oxygen – a gas that is very abundant on earth and that humans and most animals breathe to stay alive. It does not have any color, smell, or taste.

Polymer – the word “poly” means many, so a polymer is a long chain of molecules that gives a substance the ability to stretch and be very flexible.

Printable Worksheet

Use this worksheet as a fun activity to reinforce the basic chemistry concepts of chemical reactions and polymers. Kids can color the page and then determine whether each picture is a polymer, a reaction, or neither.

Welcome! Read other Chemistry articles or explore the rest of the Resource Center, which consists of hundreds of free science articles!

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New process vaporizes plastic bags and bottles, yielding gases to make new, recycled plastics

Graduate student RJ Conk adjusts a reaction chamber in which mixed plastics are degraded into the reusable building blocks of new polymers. Photo courtesy of Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley.

Berkeley — A new chemical process can essentially vaporize plastics that dominate the waste stream today and turn them into hydrocarbon building blocks for new plastics.

The catalytic process, developed at the University of California, Berkeley, works equally well with the two dominant types of post-consumer plastic waste: polyethylene, the component of most single-use plastic bags; and polypropylene, the stuff of hard plastics, from microwavable dishes to luggage. It also efficiently degrades a mix of these types of plastics.

The process, if scaled up, could help bring about a circular economy for many throwaway plastics, with the plastic waste converted back into the monomers used to make polymers, thereby reducing the fossil fuels used to make new plastics. Clear plastic water bottles made of polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET), a polyester, were designed in the 1980s to be recycled this way. But the volume of polyester plastics is minuscule compared to that of polyethylene and polypropylene plastics, referred to as polyolefins.

"We have an enormous amount of polyethylene and polypropylene in everyday objects, from lunch bags to laundry soap bottles to milk jugs — so much of what's around us is made of these polyolefins," said John Hartwig , a UC Berkeley professor of chemistry who led the research. "What we can now do, in principle, is take those objects and bring them back to the starting monomer by chemical reactions we've devised that cleave the typically stable carbon-carbon bonds. By doing so, we've come closer than anyone to give the same kind of circularity to polyethylene and polypropylene that you have for polyesters in water bottles."

Hartwig, graduate student Richard J. "RJ" Conk, chemical engineer Alexis Bell , who is a UC Berkeley Professor of the Graduate School, and their colleagues will publish the details of the catalytic process on Aug. 29 in the journal Science.

Plastics to Building Blocks v4

This video by UC Berkeley graduate student RJ Conk explains how a new catalytic process turns plastic waste into gases that are the building blocks for new plastics, thus enabling a circular economy for plastics. (Video credit: Richard J. “RJ” Conk, UC Berkeley)

A circular economy for plastics

Polyethylene and polypropylene plastics constitute about two-thirds of post-consumer plastic waste worldwide. About 80% ends up in landfills, is incinerated or simply tossed into the streets, often ending up as microplastics in streams and the ocean. The rest is recycled as low-value plastic, becoming decking materials, flowerpots and sporks.

To reduce this waste, researchers have been looking for ways to turn the plastics into something more valuable, such as the monomers that are polymerized to produce new plastics. This would create a circular polymer economy for plastics, reducing the need to make new plastics from petroleum, which generates greenhouse gases.

Two years ago, Hartwig and his UC Berkeley team came up with a process for breaking down polyethylene plastic bags into the monomer propylene — also called propene — that could then be reused to make polypropylene plastics. This chemical process employed three different bespoke heavy metal catalysts: one to add a carbon-carbon double bond to the polyethylene polymer and the other two to break the chain at this double bond and repeatedly snip off a carbon atom and, with ethylene, make propylene (C 3 H 6 ) molecules until the polymer disappeared. But the catalysts were dissolved in the liquid reaction and short-lived, making it hard to recover them in an active form.

Chemists John Hartwig and RJ Conk discuss the experimental apparatus that reduces plastics to their monomer precursors, which can then be used to make new plastics. Photo courtesy of Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley.

In the new process, the expensive, soluble metal catalysts have been replaced by cheaper solid ones commonly used in the chemical industry for continuous flow processes that reuse the catalyst. Continuous flow processes can be scaled up to handle large volumes of material.

Conk first experimented with these catalysts after consulting with Bell, an expert on heterogeneous catalysts, in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

Synthesizing a catalyst of sodium on alumina, Conk found that it efficiently broke or cracked various kinds of polyolefin polymer chains, leaving one of the two pieces with a reactive carbon-carbon double bond at the end. A second catalyst, tungsten oxide on silica, added the carbon atom at the end of the chain to ethylene gas, which is constantly streamed through the reaction chamber, to form a propylene molecule. The latter process, called olefin metathesis, leaves behind a double bond that the catalyst can access again and again until the entire chain has been converted to propylene.

The same reaction occurs with polypropylene to form a combination of propene and a hydrocarbon called isobutylene. Isobutylene is used in the chemical industry to make polymers for products ranging from footballs to cosmetics and to make high-octane gasoline additives.

Surprisingly, the tungsten catalyst was even more effective than the sodium catalyst in breaking polypropylene chains.

"You can't get much cheaper than sodium," Hartwig said. "And tungsten is an earth-abundant metal used in the chemical industry in large scale, as opposed to our ruthenium metal catalysts that were more sensitive and more expensive. This combination of tungsten oxide on silica and sodium on alumina is like taking two different types of dirt and having them together disassemble the whole polymer chain into even higher yields of propene from ethylene and a combination of propene and isobutylene from polypropylene than we did with those more complex, expensive catalysts."

Like a string of pearls

One key advantage of the new catalysts is that they avoid the need to remove hydrogen to form a breakable carbon-carbon double bond in the polymer, which was a feature of the researchers' earlier process to deconstruct polyethylene. Such double bonds are an Achilles heel of a polymer, in the same way that the reactive carbon-oxygen bonds in polyester or PET make the plastic easier to recycle. Polyethylene and polypropylene don't have this Achilles heel — their long chains of single carbon bonds are very strong.

Examples of the types of plastics the new process can handle. Left to right, a jug made of high density polyethylene, a test tube of polypropylene and a low density polyethylene bread bag. The numbers below each image are the percentage yield of monomers that can be used to make new plastic polymers. Photo courtesy of John Hartwig and RJ Conk, UC Berkeley.

"Think of the polyolefin polymer like a string of pearls," Hartwig said. "The locks at the end prevent them from falling out. But if you clip the string in the middle, now you can remove one pearl at a time."

The two catalysts together turned a nearly equal mixture of polyethylene and polypropylene into propylene and isobutylene — both gases at room temperature — with an efficiency of nearly 90%. For polyethylene or polypropylene alone, the yield was even higher.

Conk added plastic additives and different types of plastics to the reaction chamber to see how the catalytic reactions were affected by contaminants. Small amounts of these impurities barely affected the conversion efficiency, but small amounts of PET and polyvinyl chloride — PVC — significantly reduced the efficiency. This may not be a problem, however, because recycling methods already separate plastics by type.

Hartwig noted that while many researchers are hoping to redesign plastics from the ground up to be easily reused, today's hard-to-recycle plastics will be a problem for decades.

"One can argue that we should do away with all polyethylene and polypropylene and use only new circular materials. But the world's not going to do that for decades and decades. Polyolefins are cheap, and they have good properties, so everybody uses them," Hartwig said. "People say if we could figure out a way to make them circular, it would be a big deal, and that's what we've done. One can begin to imagine a commercial plant that would do this."

Other co-authors of the paper are graduate students Jules Stahler, Jake Shi, Natalie Lefton and John Brunn of UC Berkeley and Ji Yang of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Shi, Hartwig and Bell are also affiliated with Berkeley Lab. The work was funded by the Department of Energy (DE-AC02-05CH11231).

RELATED INFORMATION

• Polyolefin waste to light olefins with ethylene and base-metal heterogeneous catalysts (Science)
• Process converts polyethylene bags, plastics to polymer building blocks (September 2022)
• Upcycling: Turning plastic bags into adhesives  (December 2020)
• Hartwig Lab website

John Hartwig , [email protected] , (510) 642-2044 RJ Conk , [email protected]

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New recyclable adhesives can be easily adapted for medical, consumer and industrial applications

Polymers derived from alpha-lipoic acid (αLA), a small molecule that aids in cell metabolism, have the potential to provide versatile and environmentally friendly adhesives, but their instability has long been a barrier to their use in practical settings. Now, Berkeley engineers have discovered a new chemical strategy that overcomes this impediment, opening the door to high-performance, recyclable adhesives for a wide variety of applications.

As reported today in Science , researchers have created a new family of stabilized αLA polymer adhesives by slightly altering the chemical composition of their monomers, the small molecules that make up polymers. Using this “modular monomer system,” they tailored the properties of the polymers to create adhesives for medical, consumer and industrial applications, including a surgical superglue that could significantly advance the field of fetal surgery.

“Once we discovered a chemical approach to this stabilization problem, we had a polymer on our hands that had a multitude of potential uses,” said Phillip Messersmith, principal investigator of the study and a professor of bioengineering and of materials science and engineering. “Most commercially available polymer adhesives are tailored for specific, sometimes narrow uses. But these αLA polymers have shown that they translate well across a range of applications and may be the start of a new industry paradigm, one built around multipurpose adhesives.”

According to Subhajit Pal, first author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Bioengineering, this level of versatility is unique for an adhesive. “I don’t know of any other adhesive system or family where you can mix and match a couple of monomers together in different ratios and get this range of adhesion systems,” he said. “In addition, these novel αLA polymer adhesives often matched or surpassed the performance of commercially available products.”

The new αLA polymers also provide an environmentally friendly adhesive option, in contrast to most consumer and industrial adhesives on the market, which tend to be petroleum-based.

“These αLA polymer adhesives can be sustainably sourced — as αLA can be biomanufactured,” said Pal. “Also, they can be recycled in a closed loop system or left to degrade to non-toxic substances.”

Upon stabilizing the αLA polymer, the researchers made small modifications to the underlying monomer composition to optimize the polymers for medical, consumer and industrial applications. The result was three different products: a medical adhesive formulated to act like a surgical superglue; a pressure-sensitive adhesive, like those used for sticky notes, labels and tape; and an epoxy-like structural adhesive.

Surgical superglue

After developing the αLA polymer surgical superglue, the researchers first tested it in benchtop experiments to see how it would perform in comparison to existing medical adhesives.

“We found the mechanical and biological performance of our αLA polymer adhesive to be superior to an existing surgical sealant and a medical-grade cyanoacrylate superglue,” said Messersmith. “It provides a high-strength yet flexible adhesive that bonds when it comes into contact with wet tissue — and degrades in a timely manner, making it safe for use in the human body.”

Next, the researchers investigated the new adhesive for use in fetal surgery. During fetal surgery, doctors perform surgical repairs of congenital fetal defects before birth, accessing the womb through an incision or a small hole through the fragile amniotic sac. Following the procedure, sometimes the sac ruptures, leaks fluid or gets infected, increasing the risk of pre-term delivery and fetal death. Past attempts to seal fetal membranes have focused on applying the adhesive at the conclusion of the procedure, with limited success.

Using their surgical superglue, the researchers tried a new “presealing” approach that involves placing the αLA polymer adhesive on the tissue before puncturing with a needle — and is believed to be the first procedure of its kind in a preclinical study. The surgical superglue successfully sealed murine (mouse) amniotic sac ruptures, increasing fetal survival rate from 0% to 100%.

The researchers attribute these results to the added mechanical support provided by the adhesive near the puncture site and to self-healing properties of the polymer adhesive that allow for spontaneous closure of the hole made by the needle. The adhesive also demonstrated resistance to E. coli, which could help guard against bacterial infections.

This new adhesive has the potential to prevent some of the most common and serious complications associated with these delicate fetal surgeries and, according to Messersmith, may prove to be a breakthrough in this emerging field.

“This small animal model is just a start,” he said. “We hope to pursue this line of study in larger animals to further test the efficacy of this type of surgical superglue.”

Advancing adhesive performance

The researchers also applied their approach to developing other types of adhesives and found significant improvements in performance. After testing their pressure-sensitive adhesive, they found that it functioned well in both dry and wet conditions and even surpassed the performance of conventional pressure-sensitive adhesives.

In one test, an αLA polymer adhesive film bonded to stainless steel took more than seven days to fail under a static load of 1 kg, whereas a conventional polymer made of butyl acrylate and acrylic acid failed in less than 2 minutes under the same conditions.

Next, the researchers created an epoxy-like structural adhesive by adding calcium lipoate, a salt of αLA, giving the normally soft, elastic αLA polymers an epoxy-like rigidity and strength. The resultant structural adhesive scored well in performance tests and had shorter curing times and better adhesion performance in the presence of water when compared to commercially available epoxy.

“We showed that by tweaking the formulation of our polymer adhesive, we can get a structural adhesive that is just as strong as epoxy,” said Messersmith. “It’s basically the same chemistry as the medical adhesive and the pressure-sensitive adhesive, just slightly altered by the addition of calcium lipoate.”

A sustainable solution

Stabilized αLA polymer pressure-sensitive adhesives and structural adhesives also offer circular economy advantages. They can be recycled in what is known as a closed-loop system. Following a simple, two-step process in water, the polymer is disassembled to its monomers, which are then used to build a new polymer. And if the adhesive is discarded instead of being recycled, it will safely degrade in the environment.

According to Pal, this is an important consideration given the growing concern over the environmental impact of microplastics and other non-biodegradable materials.

“Worldwide production of adhesives was estimated to be 20 million metric tons in 2019. Among the largest categories are pressure-sensitive and structural adhesives, many of which are currently petroleum-derived and nonrecyclable, and end up in landfills or incinerators,” he said. “This new family of recyclable αLA polymer adhesives, with its renewable source, could help bring us closer to achieving a more sustainable and circular economy.”

Co-authors of this study include Jisoo Shin, postdoctoral researcher; Kelsey DeFrates, graduate researcher; Mustafa Arslan, visiting scholar; Katelyn Dale, undergraduate researcher; and Dominic Ramirez, undergraduate researcher, all from the Department of Bioengineering; and Hannah Chen, undergraduate researcher from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Energy & Environmental Science

Film-forming polymer nanoparticle strategy for improving the passivation and stability of perovskite solar cells †.

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Engineering Building A, Manchester M1 7HL, UK E-mail: [email protected] , [email protected]

b Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK

c Basic Science Department, Deanship of Preparatory Year and Supporting Studies, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam 34221, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

d Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Wood Lane W12 0BZ, UK

e Department of Chemistry, Taif University, Taif 21974, Saudi Arabia

f Department of Water and Environmental Engineering, M46, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Malaysia

g Photon Science Institute, The Henry Royce Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK

h BioAFM Facility, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK

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Film-forming polymer nanoparticle strategy for improving the passivation and stability of perovskite solar cells

Z. Jia, R. Wang, L. Zhu, A. Altujjar, P. Jacoutot, O. M. Alkhudhari, M. Z. Mokhtar, B. F. Spencer, N. W. Hodson, X. Wang, M. Osborne-Richards, A. G. Thomas, T. Hashimoto, M. Faulkner, D. J. Lewis, S. A. Haque, M. S. Islam, J. M. Saunders and B. R. Saunders, Energy Environ. Sci. , 2024, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D4EE01073F

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