PVA

Science & Engineering abbreviation · Chemistry

PVA stands for Polyvinyl alcohol, a chemistry abbreviation.

Water-soluble synthetic polymer used for the dissolving film around laundry and dishwasher pods, paper coatings, textile sizing and soluble support material in 3D printing. It forms the gel in borax "slime" recipes made from PVA solution.

Example: The dishwasher pods are wrapped in a PVA film that dissolves in the wash.

Usage notes

The abbreviation causes confusion: "PVA glue" in craft and hardware stores is usually polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), the basis of white wood glue, while pod films are polyvinyl alcohol, also written PVOH. Polyvinyl alcohol is made by hydrolyzing polyvinyl acetate, because vinyl alcohol itself is unstable.

Related abbreviations

More chemistry abbreviations

• PMMA – Poly(methyl methacrylate)
• PP – Polypropylene
• ppt – Precipitate
• PS – Polystyrene
• PTFE – Polytetrafluoroethylene
• PU – Polyurethane
• PVC – Polyvinyl chloride
• Rf – Retention factor
• RT – Room temperature
• RTP – Room temperature and pressure
• SATP – Standard ambient temperature and pressure
• SDS – Safety data sheet

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