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Polymers - Poly(ethenol) - Slime and Hydrogen Bonding.

How is Slime Made?

Poly(ethenol) will react with borax to make slime.

Borax is sodium tetraborate - Na₂B₄O₇.
When borax is put into water it forms B(OH)₄^- ions.
These ions interact with the OH groups and make cross links
between the poly(ethenol) chains forming slime.
This type of interaction is called hydrogen bonding, see below.

Using more borax gives a greater number of cross links
and a higher viscosity of the slime.
Viscosity is a measure of how easily something flows.
Water has a low viscosity and thick syrup has a high viscosity.

The picture below shows hydrogen bonding in slime. 

What is Hydrogen Bonding?

There is an attraction between the H and the O because
the H has a small positive charge and the O has a small
negative charge. The opposite charges attract each other
and this attraction is called hydrogen bonding. In hydrogen
bonding the attraction between the H and the O is weaker
than the attraction in either an ionic bond or a covalent bond.

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