I have been introduced to a paragraph in my textbook that I am trying to understand.
Macromolecular colloids: Macromolecules in suitable solvents form solutions in which the size of the macromolecules may be in the colloidal range. Such systems are called macromolecular colloids. These colloids are quite stable and resemble true solutions in many respects. Examples of naturally occurring macromolecules are starch, cellulose, proteins and enzymes; and those of man-made macromolecules are polythene, nylon, polystyrene, synthetic rubber, etc
Upon some further research I did, 'macromolecule' is another term used to refer to polymers as stated in the below paragraph from the same book.
The term polymer is defined as very large molecules having high molecular mass (10^3-10^7u). These are also referred to as macromolecules, which are formed by joining of repeating structural units on a large scale. The repeating structural units are derived from some simple and reactive molecules known as monomers and are linked to each other by covalent bonds.
As far as I have been taught, the principle factor that decides whether a particle in a dispersion medium (such as water) is a solution, colloid or suspension, is its particle size. Bigger the particle size, the less heterogeneous the mixture, and thus the more like suspensions they behave
However, for one, from a bit of research I did, polymer chain lengths range anywhere from 1 nm all the way to much beyond 1 micro meter
With that on hand, what I have seen about solutions is that the particle size ranges from 0.01 to 1 nm, usually consisting of ions and small molecules. According to my book, macromolecular colloids are relatively stable and behave like solutions. How do they remain stable and form psuedo-solutions despite their very large size?
