Definition of styrene Styrene

/stajˈɹiˌn/ - [stayreen] - sty•rene

We found 4 definitions of styrene from 4 different sources.

What does styrene mean?

Noun Plural: styrenes
styrene - a colorless oily liquid; the monomer for polystyrene
		cinnamene, phenylethylene, vinylbenzene
		polyvinyl resin, vinyl polymer, vinyl resin a thermoplastic derived by polymerization from compounds containing the vinyl group

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styrene (Noun)
An aromatic hydrocarbon, vinyl- benzene; a colourless, oily liquid, used in the manufacture of polymers such as polystyrene.

Styrene is a certain organic chemical compound having the chemical formula C8H8. Its chemical structure is made up of a vinyl group bonded onto a benzene ring. This benzene ring makes styrene an aromatic compound. At room temperature and pressure, styrene is a clear, colorless liquid. Other names for styrene can be "styrol", "vinylbenzene", "phenylethene", or "phenylethylene".

Uses.

Styrene is used in the chemical industry as a monomer. This means many styrene molecules can bond together to make a larger molecule called polystyrene. Polystyrene is a kind of polymer often used as a plastic. This kind of chemical reaction is called polymerization.

Styrene can also bond with other kinds of monomers to make other kinds of polymers called "copolymers". For one example, styrene has been mixed with another monomer called 1,3-butadiene to make a copolymer which is a kind of synthetic rubber. For another example, styrene is mixed with acrylonitrile and 1,3-butadiene to make a copolymer plastic called ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene).

Production.

This kind of reaction is called dehydrogenation. Hydrogen is also made by this reaction.