Skip to main content
dimer

dimer

3 8.3
A molecule made of two identical small molecules joined together
  • noun
  • /ˈdaɪmər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : dímero
  • Arsenic atoms were indeed in the dimer configurations, but the dimers were isolated.
  • dimer row
  • D-dimer
  • dimer chains

Examples

  • So the lithium dimer bonding order is one, right?

  • Three theoretical dimer configurations are also shown in Figure 2.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Diffusion is much easier along the directions of the rows of dimers formed by the reconstruction than across them.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Since surface dimer bonds are weaker than bulk Si-Si bonds, this dimerization actually facilitates further etching.

    Academic text (1998)
  • The lithium dimer is formed when two lithium atoms bond together.

  • In chemistry class, we learned that a dimer consists of two identical monomer units.

  • Researchers studied how the dimer structure influences the properties of the compound.

How Many Parts

hexamer
  • Specialized
9.3
tetramer
  • Specialized
8.2
trimer
  • Specialized
1 9.9
dimer
  • Specialized
3 8.3
monomer
  • Specialized
1 7.0

Surface Forms

dimer singular
dimers plural

Morphology

dimer = mer (transparent) = di + mer

A standard chemical formation: the prefix 'di-' (two) attaches to the combining form '-mer' to give the sense 'two-unit molecule', which is directly interpretable for learners familiar with chemical word-formation patterns.

Etymology

Dimer comes from the Greek parts di- meaning 'two' and -mer meaning 'part', the same root you see in polymer and monomer. So, a dimer is 'two parts' joined together, which is why it means two identical units bonded in chemistry.