Microstructural analysis polymer molecules

The determination of the microstructure of vinyl polymers is not merely a characterisation tool. Each polymer molecule is unique, and each polymer chain is a record of the history of its formation, including mis-insertions, rearrangements, the incorporation of co-monomers, and the mode of its termination. NMR analysis of polymers can therefore be used to provide detailed mechanistic and kinetic information. This approach has been applied particularly successfully to the microstructure, i. e. the sequence distribution of monomer insertions, of polypropylene, giving rise to a wealth of studies far too numerous to cover here. Progress in this area has recently been summarised in two excellent and very comprehensive review articles [122, 123[. Here we will cover only the most fundamental aspects of stereoselective polymerisations. 

Spectrometric Analysis. Spectroscopy has been extensively used for polymer and copolymer analysis. (59-69). The kind of information available from different spectroscopic techniques as well as the instrumentation required depends on the region of the electromagnetic spectrum in which absorption is taking place. Recent investigations (63) on the use of spectrophotometers for copolymer analysis have shown that the response from spectrophotometers is sometimes sensitive to the microstructure of the polymer molecules and that calibration of spectrophotometers with absolute measurements on the microstructure (i.e. NMR) may be necessary in order to obtain reliable quantitative information on concentration and copolymer composition determinations. 

Much of the analysis of plastics microstructures is fairly straightforward. It is easy to tell whether you are dealing with a crystalline or an amorphous material by observing the sample using polarized light. Amorphous areas appear black, but crystalline areas can be clearly examined. The explanation for this effect is that in the case of crystalline polymers the molecules crystallize and fold together in a uniformly ordered manner,... 

---