Introduction to Polymers and Polymer Types

Enrique Saldivar-Guerra and Eduardo Vivaldo-Lima 

Synthetic polymers are relatively modern materials, since they entered into the technological and practical scene only in the first decades of the twentieth century. This makes them very different from some other materials that have been known to humanity for centuries or millennia. 

given the fact that synthetic polymers are created by chemical reactions, the possibilities of building different polymers are virtually endless, only restricted by chemical and thermodynamic laws and by the creativity of the synthetic polymer chemist. These endless possibilities have given rise to an enormous variety of synthetic polymers that find application in almost every conceivable field of human activity that deals with matter or physical objects. In addition, the enormous molecular stmctural versatility that is derived from the rich synthetic possibilities, translates into materials with extremely diverse properties, and therefore applications. 

We can find polymers as components of many of the objects that surround us, as well as in a broad diversity of applications in daily life clothing, shoes, personal care products, furniture, electrical and electronic appliances, packaging, utensils, automobile parts, coatings, paints, adhesives, tires, and so on. The list is endless, and these few examples should provide an idea of the importance of synthetic polymers to modern society, in terms of both their usefulness and the economic value that they represent. 

Handbook of Polymer Synthesis, Characterization, and Processing, First Edition. Edited by Enrique Saldivar-Guerra and Eduardo Vivaldo-Lima. 2013 John Wiley Sons, Inc. Published 2013 by John Wiley Sons, Inc. 

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The principal types of rigid plastic, both thermoplastic and thermosetting, are listed in Table 2.1, which also lists the abbreviations used in this text. A more comprehensive introduction to polymers is available [1]. 

More than 20 years have passed since the publication of the 2nd Edition of Introduction to Polymer Viscoelasticity. Although many of the fundamental aspects of the field remain unchanged, there have been a number of significant developments. Many have to do with instrumentation and the revolution in data collection and analysis, which in no small part has been due to the advent of the personal computer and the associated progression of instrumentation of all types. 

This chapter will provide the reader with a general introduction to the more common types of solid-gas (dust collection) and solid-liquid filtration mechanisms. The raw materials, polymers, fibres, and different types of fabric construction employed in filter media manufacture and some typical fabric finishing processes are discussed in detail. A brief look at filter market developments will also be considered. 

Chapter 1 is an introduction to polymer science, covering its history, fundamentals, and recent developments. The reader is introduced to the different types of polymers, their... 

Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to polymer materials, processes, morphology and characterization. Chapter 2 is a concise review of the fundamentals of microscopy, where many important terms are defined. Chapter 3 reviews imaging theory for the reader who wants to understand the nature of image formation in the various types of microscopes, with particular reference to imaging polymers. All of these chapters are mere summaries of large fields of science, to make this text complete. They contain many references to more specialized texts and reviews. Chapters 4 and 5 contain the major thrust of the book. Chapter 4 covers specimen preparation, organized by method. 

This volume has been set up to reflect the broad classifications mentioned earlier. A brief introduction to polymer chemistry is followed by a tabulation of the various types of polymers that have been used and the methods for their characterization. Thereafter, sections follow that touch on the use of polymers as supports. Examples are given where polymers... 

Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to polymer materials, processes, morphology and characterization. Chapter 2 is a concise review of the fundamentals of microscopy, where many important terms are defined. Chapter 3 reviews imaging theory for the reader who wants to understand the nature of image formation in the various types of... 

This book is intended to be useful to several types of reader. For those who have a basic knowledge of rheology but little experience with polymers, we have provided in the early chapters sufficient information about polymer physics and chemistry for an understanding of the later chapters. For readers who are currently active in polymer rheology and would like to know the state of the art with respect to quantitative relationships between molecular structure and rheology, the later chapters of the book provide this information. Thus, the book provides both an introduction to polymers and rheological concepts as well as an advanced treatment of potential interest both to polymer scientists and plastics engineers. 

The section on applications examines the same techniques from the standpoint of the type of chemical system. A number of techniques applicable to biomolecular work are mentioned, but not covered at the level of detail presented throughout the rest of the book. Likewise, we only provide an introduction to the techniques applicable to modeling polymers, liquids, and solids. Again, our aim was to not repeat in unnecessary detail information contained elsewhere in the book, but to only include the basic concepts needed for an understanding of the subjects involved. 

These two moduli are not material constants and typical variations are shown in Fig. 5.3. As with the viscous components, the tensile modulus tends to be about three times the shear modulus at low stresses. Fig. 5.3 has been included here as an introduction to the type of behaviour which can be expected from a polymer melt as it flows. The methods used to obtain this data will be described later, when the effects of temperature and pressure will also be discussed. 

In preparing this book I have attempted to do two distinct things (i) to provide a brief, readable introduction to the chemistry of polymers and (ii) to emphasise the applied aspects of the scientific knowledge presented. I believe that any introductory book ought to be written in a way that encourages its proposed audience actually to read it. Also as an applied scientist myself I want to emphasise the applications of polymer chemistry since I believe that these are worth covering in a book of this type. 

End-functional polymers were also synthesized by lipase-catalyzed polymerization of DDL in the presence of vinyl esters [103,104]. The vinyl ester acted as terminator ( terminator method ). In using vinyl methacrylate (12.5 mol % or 15 mol % based on DDL) and lipase PF as terminator and catalyst, respectively, the quantitative introduction of methacryloyl group at the polymer terminal was achieved to give the methacryl-type macromonomer (Fig. 12). By the addition of divinyl sebacate, the telechelic polyester having a carboxylic acid group at both ends was obtained. 

The features common to reversible polymer gels of many types are identified suid discussed. The nature of the gel state is carefully defined, and a novel classification scheme based on morphology, rather than chemical or mechanistic considerations, is proposed. The article also serves as an overview to some of the more commonly used techniques used in the study of gels, and as an introduction to some of the current trends in reversible gel research. Some speculations regarding future trends in reversible gel research are presented. 

Repulsive van der Waals forces occur in a number of practically important cases, such as for different types of polymers in organic solvents (van Oss et al. 1980) and for certain hydrocarbon films on water (as mentioned in Vignette X). For example, the use of repulsive van der Waals forces has been suggested as a way to dissociate antigen-antibody complexes by van Oss et al. (1979). A much more detailed and quantitative introduction to repulsive van der Waals forces may be found in Israelachvili (1991). 

The field of organic conductors has been extensively reviewed (B-77MI1300, 78ANY25, B-78MI11300, 78MI11302, 79ACR79) and no attempt is made here to describe the synthesis and properties of known materials. Molecular conductors of the doped polymer type have been excluded since these are neither intrinsic conductors nor heterocyclic. A review of the principal requirements for the molecular and crystal structures as currently understood is presented as an introduction to the field of organic conductors. 

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