The monomer in polyethene seems to drop the $\ce{C=C}$ bond and end up with a $\ce{C-C}$ bond. The polymer chain then looks like $\ce{[CH2-CH2]_{n}}$. If I were to look at that polymer chain I would probably call it polyethane not polythene (or I could even call it polymethane) because it doesn't have a double bond, so I wouldn't classify it as an alkene. Am I doing something wrong with my analysis here? Or is there some sort of rule about nomenclature that change when things become polymers and drop a functional bond (in this case the $\ce{C=C}$ bond)?
Answer
The reason it is called polyethene (or polyethylene) is because it was produced from the monomer of ethylene. To produce polyethylene, a radical initiator is added to ethylene, which attacks one carbon and opens up the double bond leaving a radical at the end. This radical attacks another ethylene molecule, etc. The chain stops forming when it encounters another radical. So, from ethylene, we get polyethylene (even though it looks like polymethane).
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