Characterization and Analysis of Polymers

This volume on "Molecular Characterization and Analysis of Polymers" has been edited by John M. Chalmers and Robert J. Meier, both of whom have considerable experience in the industrial sector. They have compiled a broad compilation of chapters on the various aspects of polymer analysis and placed a clear and useful emphasis on problem solving, rather than on the techniques used. 

Thanks to the editors and all contributing authors for their time and efforts in preparing this comprehensive compilation of research papers that will make this book on molecular characterization and analysis of polymers a unique reference in this field. 

D. W. Van Krevelen, Properties of Polymers, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1990. 1.6 CHARACTERIZATION AND ANALYSIS OF POLYMERS... 

Stevens, M. P. "Characterization and Analysis of Polymers by Gas Chromatography" Marcel Dekker New York, 1969. 

Garrett, R. W., O Donnell, J. H., and Pomery, P. J., Polymer 85 Preprints International Symposium on Characterization and Analysis of Polymers, Melbourne, Australia, Feb. (1985). 

Molecular Characterization and Analysis of Polymers Advances in Plow Injection Analysis and Related Techniques... 

G. M. Kline (ed.). Analytical Chemistry of Polymers, Interscience, New York, 3 parts, 1959-1962. M. P. Stevens, Characterization and Analysis of Polymers by Gas Chromatography, Marcel... 

Bickford, M., (2008). Characterization and Analysis of Polymers. John Wiley and Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-23300-9, Hoboken, New Jersey, United States. 

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is widely used for surface characterization and analysis of polymers, biomedical materials and paper. The technique was developed by Kai Siegbahn in the 1960s, who realized that technical development had come to a point where the photoelectric effect discovered by Einstein could be used for surface chemical analysis. The photoelectric effect is the phenomenon that occurs when a material is exposed to photons with sufficiently high energy and electrons contained in the material with a lower binding energy are emitted. Therefore, we can write ... 

D. E. Demco and B. Bluemich, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance , in Characterization and Analysis of Polymers, ed. A. Seidel, John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, N.J., 2008, p. 109. 

From theoretical and fundamental aspects to recent advances and novel developments in characterization and analysis of polymers, spectroscopy has, over the years, proved itself to be the most popular family of techniques in providing information at molecular levels. MS, ESR, and NMR applications highlighted in this chapter belong to the numerous approaches in the spectroscopic characterization and analysis of polymer systems. 

M-l Stevens MP. Characterization and analysis of polymers by gas chromatography. New York Marcel Dekker 1969. 

Technical processes that employ ionizing radiation are widely applied in the polymer field, and include the production of crosslinked wire insulation and of heat-shrink food wrappings and tubings for electrical connections, the vulcanization of rubber tires and rubber lattices, and the curing of coatings and inks. Moreover, various X-ray methods can also be appUed for the characterization and analysis of polymers, especially of the polymer surfaces. Both, X-ray imaging and X-ray microscopy allow the derivation of quantitative composition maps of polymer surfaces. Notable in this context are also near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS), extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). 

Spectroscopic methods are finding increasing use in the characterization and analysis of polymers. All of the methods that are employed were developed initially for use with low-molar-mass materials and they have been extended for the analysis of polymers. The spectrum obtained for a particular polymer is often characteristic of that polymer and can therefore be used for identification purposes. Polymer spectra can be surprisingly simple given the complex nature of polymer molecules and they are often similar to the spectra obtained from their low-molar-mass counterparts. This can make the analysis of the spectra a relatively simple task allowing important spectral details to be revealed. In fact, certain information can only be obtained using spectroscopic methods. For example, nuclear magnetic resonance (n.m.r.) is the only technique that can be used to measure directly the tacticity of a polymer molecule. 

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