Polymer powder survey

Survey of Polymer Powder and Microparticle Generation Techniques... 

Spectroscopic techniques have been employed extensively for monitoring and control of processes in different fields. Since a detailed review of the applications of spectroscopic techniques in distinct areas is certainly beyond the objectives of the chapter, the interested reader should refer to textbooks and surveys for additional details [ 10,27,30,33,43,44]. It is also important to emphasize that most publications available in the field of polymer and polymerization reactions make use of spectrometers for off-line characterization of polymer properties. Typical applications include identification of polymer materials [82], evaluation of copolymer and polymer blend compositions [83, 84], evaluation of monomer and polymer compositions during polymerizations [85], determination of additive content in polymer samples [86, 87], and estimation of end-use properties of polymer materials. End-use properties analyzed include the degree of crystallinity of polymer samples [88], the degree of orientation of polymer films [85], the hydroxyl number of polyols [89], the melt flow index of polymer pellets [90], and the intrinsic viscosity of polymer powders [91], the morphology of... 

Bulk semiconductors and powders have been used as initiators for radical polymerization reactions [140-144], Recently the study has been extended to semiconductor nanoclusters [145-147]. It was found that polymerization of methyl methacrylate occurs readily using ZnO nanoclusters. Under the same experimental conditions, no polymerization occurred with bulk ZnO particles as photoinitiators [145], In a survey study, several semiconductor nanoclusters such as CdS and Ti02, in addition to ZnO, were found to be effective photoinitiators for a wide variety of polymers [146], In all cases nanoclusters are more effective than bulk semiconductor particles. A comparison of the quantum yields for polymerization of methyl methacrylate for different nanoclusters revealed that Ti02 < ZnO < CdS [146]. This trend is parallel with the reduction potential of the conduction band electron. The mechanism of polymerization is believed to be via anionic initiation, followed by a free-radical propagation step. 

Diffraction techniques have been successfully applied and modified to learn about the structure of a wide variety of materials including magnetic materials, superconductors, glasses, micelles, proteins, polymers, and inorganic catalysts. Samples can be single crystal or powder, solid or liquid (although less commonly so). This chapter discusses the underlying diffraction principles, surveys common experimental and analysis techniqnes, and briefly discusses applications of diffraction for nanostractured materials. 

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