Homopolymers

Homopolymers are named using the name of the real or assumed monomer (the ‘source’) from which it is derived, e.g., poly(methyl methacrylate).^[5] Monomers can be named using IUPAC recommendations, or well-established traditional names.^[6] Should ambiguity arise, class names can be added.

polyalkylene:vinyloxirane (left) and polyether:vinyloxirane (right)

For example, the source-based name poly(vinyloxirane) could correspond to either of the structures shown. To clarify, the polymer is named using the polymer class name followed by a colon and the name of the monomer, i.e., class name:monomer name. Thus on the left and right, respectively, are polyalkylene:vinyloxirane and polyether:vinyloxirane.

Copolymers

The structure of a copolymer can be described using the most appropriate of the connectives shown in Table 1.^[7] These are written in italic font.

^a The first name is that of the main chain.

Non-linear polymers

Non-linear polymers and copolymers, and polymer assemblies are named using the italicized qualifiers in Table 2.^[5] The qualifier, such as branch, is used as a prefix (P) when naming a (co)polymer, or as a connective (C), e.g., comb, between two polymer names.

^a In accordance with IUPAC organic nomenclature, square brackets indicate the nature of the locant sites in fused ring systems.^[8]

Regular single-strand organic polymers

In place of the monomer name used in source-based nomenclature, structure-based nomenclature uses that of the "preferred constitutional repeating unit" (CRU).^[9] It can be determined as follows:

1. A large enough part of the polymer chain is drawn to show the structural repetition.

   Consider as an example:

   

2. The smallest repeating portion is a CRU, so all such possibilities are identified (including multiple directional possibilities for the chain).

   For the preceding polymer, they are:

   

3. The subunits that make up each of these structures are identified, i.e., the largest divalent groups that can be named using IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry.

   In the example, the two-carbon ethylidene unit is longer than two separate one-carbon methanediyl units.
   

   

   Figure 1. The order of subunit precedence. The subunit with the highest precedence is at the top centre. Subunits of lower precedence are found by following the arrows. The type of subunit, be it a heterocycle, a heteroatom chain, a carbocycle, or a carbon chain, determines the colour arrow to follow.^[9]

4. Using the shortest path in order of decreasing precedence of subunits, the correct order of the subunits is determined using Figure 1.

   In the example, the oxy subunits in the CRUs are heteroatom chains. From Figure 1, oxy subunits are take precedence over acyclic carbon chain subunits.

5. The preferred CRU is chosen as that with the lowest possible locant(s) for substituents.

   In the example, there is a bromo-substituted -CH₂-CH₂- subunit. 1-Bromoethane-1,2-diyl is chosen in preference to 2- bromoethane-1,2-diyl as the former has a lower locant for the bromo-substituent. The preferred CRU is therefore oxy(1-bromoethane-1,2-diyl) and the polymer is thus named poly[oxy(1-bromoethane-1,2-diyl)].

Polymers that are not made up of regular repetitions of a single CRU are called irregular polymers. For these, each constitutional unit (CU) is separated by a slash, e.g., poly(but-1-ene-1,4-diyl/1-vinylethane-1,2-diyl).^[10]

Representations of divalent groups in polymers^[9]

Name	Groupa	Name	Groupa
oxy	${\displaystyle {\ce {-O{-}}}}$	propylimino
sulfanediyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-S{-}}}}$	hydrazine-1,2-diyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-{\overset {1}{N}}H2-{\overset {2}{N}}H2{-}}}}$
sulfonyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-SO2{-}}}}$	phthaloyl
diazenediyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-N=N{-}}}}$	1,4-phenylene
imino	${\displaystyle {\ce {-NH{-}}}}$	cyclohexane-1,2-diyl
carbonyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-{\overset {\displaystyle O \atop \|}{C}}-}}}$	butane-1,4-diyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-{\overset {1}{C}}H2{\overset {2}{C}}H2{\overset {3}{C}}H2{\overset {4}{C}}H2{-}}}}$
oxalyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-{\overset {\displaystyle O \atop \|}{C}}-{\overset {\displaystyle O \atop \|}{C}}-}}}$	1-bromoethane-1,2-diyl
silanediyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-SiH2{-}}}}$	1-oxopropane-1,3-diyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-{\underset {1}{\overset {\displaystyle O \atop \|}{C}}}-{\overset {2}{C}}H2{\overset {3}{C}}H2{-}}}}$
ethane-1,2-diyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-{\overset {1}{C}}H2-{\overset {2}{C}}H2{-}}}}$	ethene-1,2-diyl	${\displaystyle {\ce {-{\overset {1}{C}}H2={\overset {2}{C}}H2{-}}}}$
methylene	${\displaystyle {\ce {-CH2{-}}}}$	methylmethylene

^a To avoid ambiguity, wavy lines drawn perpendicular to the free bond,
which are conventionally used to indicate free valences,^[11]
are usually omitted from graphical representations in a polymer context.

Regular double-strand organic polymers

Double-strand polymers consist of uninterrupted chains of rings. In a spiro polymer, each ring has one atom in common with adjacent rings. In a ladder polymer, adjacent rings have two or more atoms in common. To identify the preferred CRU, the chain is broken so that the senior ring is retained with the maximum number of heteroatoms and the minimum number of free valences.^[12]

An example is The preferred CRU is an acyclic subunit of 4 carbon atoms with 4 free valences, one at each atom, as shown.

It is oriented so that the lower left atom has the lowest number. The free-valence locants are written before the suffix, and they are cited clockwise from the lower left position as: lower-left, upper-left:upper-right, lower-right. This example is thus named poly(butane-1,4:3,2-tetrayl). For more complex structures, the order of seniority again follows Figure 1.