Polymer Science, Early

Since the days of Staudinger [29] and the birth of polymer science early in this century, vast arrays of oligomers and high-molar-mass synthetic polymers have been produced with coil dimensions well over 10 A [30]. Although many advances... 

Formaldehyde polymers have been known for some time (1) and early investigations of formaldehyde polymerization contributed significantly to the development of several basic concepts of polymer science (2). Polymers of higher aUphatic homologues of formaldehyde are also well known (3) and frequently referred to as aldehyde polymers (4). Some have curious properties, but none are commercially important. 

At the end of the 1930s, the only generally available method for determining mean MWs of polymers was by chemical analysis of the concentration of chain end-groups this was not very accurate and not applicable to all polymers. The difficulty of applying well tried physical chemical methods to this problem has been well put in a reminiscence of early days in polymer science by Stockmayer and Zimm (1984). The determination of MWs of a solute in dilute solution depends on the ideal, Raoult s Law term (which diminishes as the reciprocal of the MW), but to eliminate the non-ideal terms which can be substantial for polymers and which are independent of MW, one has to go to ever lower concentrations, and eventually one runs out of measurement accuracy . The methods which were introduced in the 1940s and 1950s are analysed in Chapter 11 of Morawetz s book. 

This new area of chemistry is still at a very early stage of development with most of the breakthroughs occurring in the last couple of years. The future holds promise for more exciting developments in the use of P=C bonds in polymer science and it is very possible that apphcations may be found for these new types of materials. In addition, an exciting prospect for the future is the further expansion of these methodologies, which are so common for C=C bonds, to other phosphorus-containing multiple bonds and other p-block elements. 

Remembering the Early Days of Polymer Science. In Raymond B. Seymour... 

In the early days of polymer science, when polystyrene became a commercial product, insolubility was sometimes observed which was not expected from the functionality of this monomer. Staudinger and Heuer [2] could show that this insolubility was due to small amounts of tetrafunctional divinylbenzene present in styrene as an impurity from its synthesis. As little as 0.02 mass % is sufficient to make polystyrene of a molecular mass of 2001000 insoluble [3]. This knowledge and the limitations of the technical processing of insoluble and non-fusible polymers as compared with linear or branched polymers explains why, over many years, research on the polymerization of crosslinking monomers alone or the copolymerization of bifunctional monomers with large fractions of crosslinking monomers was scarcely studied. 

Eric Proskauer. Together, they founded the Journal of Polymer Science. The journal was not in the early going as profitable... 

Herman Mark is thought of by most chemists as a pioneer in polymer science. I think of him, with affection and admiration, as a pioneer in modern structural chemistry and an important early contributor to its development. 

Over the years Herman Mark has been known as polymer science s advocate, early explorer, spokesman, representative, teacher, and senior citizen. Starting, as we have seen, as a young man when the concept of high molecular weight was not accepted, Dr. Mark and his many associates confirmed the structure of polymers and helped open whole new areas of scientific research. 

The key word in the early years of polymer science is empiricism. Thus, Simon in 1839 made polystyrene but it was not until about 1937 with the recognition that high purity monomers were necessary to achieve desired polymer strength that the synthesis of industrially "satisfactory" polystyrene was achieved. 

Polymer science and technology is not only a fundamental science but also important from the industrial and commercial point of view. The author has interwoven discussion of these subjects with the basics in polymer science and technology. Testimony to the high acceptance of this book is that early demand required reprinting and updating of each of the previous editions. We see the result in this new significantly changed and improved edition. 

Early developments in polymers were largely empirical because of a lack of knowledge of polymer science. Advancement in polymers was rapid in the 1930s and 1940s because of the theories developed by Staudinger, Carothers, Mark, and many other scientists. 

The independence of functional group reactivity of molecular size is contrary to the general impression that was widely held in the early years of polymer science. There was a general misconception of decreased reactivity with increased molecular size. This was due... 

The broad landscape of chemical topology and topoisomerism has been summarized in comprehensive reviews [2-5], The accomplishments of Schill, Walba, Sauvage, Stoddart, and others are landmarks in organic synthesis. This chapter describes a personal odyssey in which the focus is on statistical approaches - tinged by polymer science in their continual reference to the flexibility of chains. Some early laboratory efforts, and the technical considerations which led to them, are discussed, as is more recent activity. 

The authors would like to dedicate these two volumes of Advances in Polymer Science to their colleagues and friends, Prof. Raimund Stadler and Prof. Lorenz Kramer, members of this Collaborative Research Centre, who passed away much too early. Their scientific vision and inspiring research had a great impact on progress and success of this Collaborative Research Centre. 

Despite his own achievements, Furukawa s chapter indicates the need for future research. How did chemists and physicists work together in the 1940s and 1950s to create a new unified discipline of polymer science It would also be useful to look at how the discipline was taught in the period between 1940 and 1965, especially in the United States. To do this, one would need to examine which courses were taught, the launch of new journals and the evolution of textbooks across various editions. As the polymer science in America started in a few key institutions, notably Brooklyn Polytechnic, it would also be valuable to look at the diffusion of the new discipline from these seed institutions, tracing the careers of the early alumni and coworkers such as Charles Overberger. 

Mark, H. 1973. The early days of polymer science. Journal of Chemical Education 50 (11) 757-60. 

Early developments of this field in our country [1, 2] began almost thirty years ago with research in which polymer science was earnestly and progressively investigated from the view of both physics and chemistry. Tremendous numbers of results have accumulated over these three decades. 

Pulse radiolysis is a powerful tool for the creation and kinetic investigation of highly reactive species. It was introduced to the field of radiation chemistry at the end of the 1950s and became popular in the early 1960s. Although the objects of this modern technique were, at first, limited to solvated electrons and related intermediates, it was soon applied to a variety of organic and inorganic substances. As early as 1964, ionic intermediates produced by electron pulses in vinyl monomers were reported for the first time. Since then, the pulse radiolysis method has achieved considerable success in the field of polymer science. 

Thus by the early 1930s most scientists were convinced of the macromolecular structure of polymers. During the following 20 years, work on polymers increased enormously the first journals devoted solely to their study were published and most of the fundamental principles of Polymer Science were established. 

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