Inorganic polymer research, main

This is one of the main purposes of inorganic polymer research —the search for new and useful compounds and materials that combine the properties of polymers with those of ceramics and/or metals. 

At present, research on polymers modified with inorganic whiskers focuses mainly on mechanical performance analysis and further theoretical analysis is relatively rare. In recent years, the finite element method has been widely used in such studies, which can provide a necessary theoretical basis for the micro-structure design of material and macro performance improvement. 

Core-and-shell composite particles based on inorganic cores with a polymer shell have also been investigated by several researchers, but do not seem to have reached industrial products. The reason for this is probably the high cost and possibly limited benefits of this type of latexes compared to existing products. A similar type of product is composite particles based on pre-emulsified polymers such as epoxies or polyesters (alkyds) with a subsequent addition of new monomers and polymerisation. This technique is partly connected to the process of miniemulsion polymerisation described in Section 1.2.2. A type of core-and-shell particles or at least multiphase particles may be obtained in this type of process. However, industrial applications of this type of products are not found on a large scale yet. Applications of polymer particles, mainly made by emulsion polymerisation, in the biomedical field was concentrated initially in the areas of blood flow determination and in vitro immunoassays. Microspheres have been employed for the determination of myocardial, cerebral and other blood flow and perfusion rates. Polymer particles and lattices, in particular, have been extensively used in immunoassays, starting in 1956, with the development... 

Molecular wires are indispensable elements of futme molecular-scale electronic devises, and their fabrication has been attracting much interest. Conventional research has been focused on the synthesis of tt-conjugated ohgomers and supramolecular polymers [56]. The introduction of inorganic elements or one-dimensional inorganic complexes in main chains would expand the potential of these nanomaterials and lead to new interfacial phenomena, which have not been observed in the single component system. However, one-dimensional complexes have not been considered candidates for molecular wires, since they exist only in three-dimensional solids. They are usually not soluble, and when they are dissolved, the one-dimensional structure is disrupted and the structure is not maintained. 

Most inorganic research involves work with small molecules, and relatively little concentrated effort has been devoted to the macromolecular aspects of the subject. The complexity of the macromolecular chemistry has undoubtedly contributed to this neglect. However, it is clear from recent work that dramatic advances in both fundamental science and technology would be possible if the high polymer chemistry of the representative elements were to be studied in detail. Indeed, the much-heralded renaissance in Main Group chemistry may ultimately depend on a closer Investigation of the macromolecular aspects of the field. 

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