Special Topics in Polymer Chemistry

Now in its second edition, the book has been reviseSFand expanded to reflect recent developments in the subject. There are, for example, extensive updates to the Special topics in polymer chemistry" section, with an additional section on optically active polymers, expanded sections on ionic and co-ordination polymerisations, and copolymerisation, and additional examples of new environmental legislation are outlined wherever appropriate. 

Archer, Ronald D. Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers. Special Topics in Inorganic Chemistry. New York Wiley-VCH, 2001. 

We will focus on the development of ruthenium-based metathesis precatalysts with enhanced activity and applications to the metathesis of alkenes with nonstandard electronic properties. In the class of molybdenum complexes [7a,g,h] recent research was mainly directed to the development of homochi-ral precatalysts for enantioselective olefin metathesis. This aspect has recently been covered by Schrock and Hoveyda in a short review and will not be discussed here [8h]. In addition, several important special topics have recently been addressed by excellent reviews, e.g., the synthesis of medium-sized rings by RCM [8a], applications of olefin metathesis to carbohydrate chemistry [8b], cross metathesis [8c,d],enyne metathesis [8e,f], ring-rearrangement metathesis [8g], enantioselective metathesis [8h], and applications of metathesis in polymer chemistry (ADMET,ROMP) [8i,j]. Application of olefin metathesis to the total synthesis of complex natural products is covered in the contribution by Mulzer et al. in this volume. 

Many review have documented the utilization of ylides in synthetic organic chemistry [10]. This chapter focuses on recent developments and special topics of ylide polymer science. The major purpose of this review is to pro-... 

Industry, seeing a need for training those employed by them in the art and science of polymer chemistry, began to experiment. Certain groups with common research interests and needs joined together to form societies which in turn offered short courses typically in areas of very specialized applications. Societies active in these ventures include SPE, PRI, ACS, APS and SPI. Several companies such as Hercules, Monsanto, and DuPont sponsored or permitted informal courses in polymer related topics to be presented during company time and/or using company facilities. The "teachers" or discussion leaders could be either one of the participants or an invited academic or industrial "expert". These "in-house" courses have increased in popularity and today are part of many companies schedules of activity. 

Advances in Polymer Science comprises reports of monograph type, dealing with progress achieved in the physics and chemistry of high polymers, and includes full bibliographical data. Its objectives are to provide those working in this field with information on subjects that are of special topical interest and to report recent advances that have been SO rapid as to require review-type treatment. 

Polymer science is a fairly new field in the natural sciences. In the first 15 years it was certainly no more than a special subject of organic chemistry, but around 1940 this new topic started to spread its roots into all the traditional fields of science. The immense influence on biochemistry and biophysics is well known, and our present understanding of the molecular basis of biological processes is inconceivable without Staudinger s pioneering work1,21. 

During the tow past decades die amount of information gathered in the area of the organic chemistry has increased tremendously. To see this vast amount of knowledge has been reflected in elementary organic chemistiy courses, one need only look at the organic chemistry texts whish have been appeared on the market in the last five years. Most of the renew texts emphasize a core of reactions, mechanisms and structure determinations via spectral properties. These subjects are then supplemented with special topics such as biochemistry, polymer chemistry and natural products. 

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