The term vinyl refers to the monomers that are the building blocks of this class of polymer, vinyl monomers being small molecules containing carbon-carbon double bonds. Polyethylene, polystyrene, polypropylene, polymethyl methacrylate, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinylacetals, polyvinyl fluoride, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, polyvinylcarbazole, and polyvinyl ethers are all examples of compounds referred to generically as vinyl polymers. Polyethylene, the simplest vinyl polymer, is made from the monomer ethylene. When polymerized, the ethylene molecules are joined along the axes of their double bonds to form a long chain of many thousands of carbon atoms containing only single bonds between atoms. By adding HCl, HF, CH₃OOH, or CH₃OH, to acetylene one can form vinyl chloride, vinyl fluoride, vinyl acetate, and vinyl methyl ether, respectively. These monomers are polymerized through various methods, and the resulting thermoplastics are processed through injection molding and extrusion.

Henry Victor Regnault...