Editing Ether (section)

===Polyethers===

Polyethers are generally [[polymer]]s containing ether linkages in their main chain. The term [[polyol]] generally refers to polyether polyols with one or more functional [[end-group]]s such as a [[hydroxyl]] group. The term "oxide" or other terms are used for high molar mass polymer when end-groups no longer affect polymer properties.

[[Crown ether]]s are cyclic polyethers. Some toxins produced by [[dinoflagellate]]s such as [[brevetoxin]] and [[ciguatoxin]] are extremely large and are known as ''cyclic'' or ''ladder'' polyethers.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Aliphatic polyethers
|-
! Name of the polymers with low to medium molar mass !! Name of the polymers with high molar mass !! Preparation !! Repeating unit !! Examples of trade names
|-
| [[Paraformaldehyde]] || [[Polyoxymethylene plastic|Polyoxymethylene]] (POM) or polyacetal or polyformaldehyde || [[Step-growth polymerisation]] of [[formaldehyde]] || –CH<sub>2</sub>O– || Delrin from [[DuPont]]
|-
| [[Polyethylene glycol]] (PEG) || Polyethylene oxide (PEO) or polyoxyethylene (POE) || [[Ring-opening polymerization]] of [[ethylene oxide]]|| –CH<sub>2</sub>CH<sub>2</sub>O– || Carbowax from [[Dow Chemical Company|Dow]]
|-
| [[Polypropylene glycol]] (PPG) || Polypropylene oxide (PPOX) or polyoxypropylene (POP) || anionic ring-opening polymerization of [[propylene oxide]] || –CH<sub>2</sub>CH(CH<sub>3</sub>)O– || Arcol from [[Covestro]]
|-
| Polytetramethylene glycol (PTMG) or Polytetramethylene ether glycol (PTMEG) || [[Polytetrahydrofuran]] (PTHF) || Acid-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of [[tetrahydrofuran]]|| {{chem2|\sCH2CH2CH2CH2O\s}} || Terathane from [[Invista]] and PolyTHF from [[BASF]]
|}

The phenyl ether polymers are a class of [[aromatic compound|aromatic]] polyethers containing aromatic cycles in their main chain: [[polyphenyl ether]] (PPE) and [[Poly(p-phenylene oxide)|poly(''p''-phenylene oxide)]] (PPO).