Synopses & Reviews
The third edition of Introduction to Polymers includes coverage of the major new developments in polymer science since 1990 and has a completely new structure that makes it even more accessible. The original five chapters have been reorganized into twenty-five self-contained chapters grouped into four sections that focus on: Concepts and Synthesis; Characterization; Structure and Morphology; and Properties. While retaining the overall balance between these themes, the content of each previous chapter has been reconsidered in detail, revised, reorganized where appropriate, and expanded significantly to include the new developments. Although the new edition greatly expands upon the previous material and adds many new topics and concepts, the philosophy is unchanged. As before, it is written to be self-contained with most equations derived fully. All of the diagrams have been freshly-prepared by the authors to be consistent in style and are supplied with the book as PDFs. And each chapter has a list of further reading material and sets of problems, for which a solutions manual is available with qualifying course adoption.
The chapters on Polymer Synthesis have been expanded substantially and now include the many important new methods of polymerization developed during the past two decades. The chemistry is presented at a depth designed to inform selection of appropriate method(s) for synthesis of a specific polymer and to facilitate understanding of the polymerization kinetics and mechanisms, the latter being made more explicit by showing electron movements. The coverage of Polymer Characterization also has been expanded, especially the use of spectroscopic methods, and now includes new topics on diffusion, solution behaviour of polyelectrolytes, field-flow fractionation and methods of mass spectrometry. The topics under Structure and Morphology have been rearranged to aid learning and there are completely new sections on macromolecular dynamics and reptation, on liquid crystalline polymers and on thermal analysis, plus a new chapter on multicomponent polymer systems. The section on Polymer Properties benefits greatly from breakdown into separate chapters and now includes topics such as effects of chain entanglements, swelling of elastomers, impact behaviour, ductile fracture, and a more thorough coverage of rubber-toughening of brittle plastics, as well as two completely new chapters on composites and on electrical properties.
Synopsis
The third edition of a best-selling textbook, Introduction to Polymers includes new chapters on polymer composites and functional polymers for electrical, optical, photonic, and biomedical applications. It features a new section on controlled radical polymerizations such as nitroxide, ATRP, RAFT/MADDIX, and CCT and expands material on NMR spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The book offers additional information on statistical theory and measurement of repeat unit sequence distributions. With updated questions, problems, solutions manual, and suggestions for further reading, this text remains an essential textbook and valuable resource for undergraduate students in polymer chemistry and material science.
Synopsis
Thoroughly updated, Introduction to Polymers, Third Edition presents the science underpinning the synthesis, characterization and properties of polymers. The material has been completely reorganized and expanded to include important new topics and provide a coherent platform for teaching and learning the fundamental aspects of contemporary polymer science.
New to the Third Edition
Part I
This first part covers newer developments in polymer synthesis, including living radical polymerization, catalytic chain transfer and free-radical ring-opening polymerization, along with strategies for the synthesis of conducting polymers, dendrimers, hyperbranched polymers and block copolymers. Polymerization mechanisms have been made more explicit by showing electron movements.
Part II
In this part, the authors have added new topics on diffusion, solution behaviour of polyelectrolytes and field-flow fractionation methods. They also greatly expand coverage of spectroscopy, including UV visible, Raman, infrared, NMR and mass spectroscopy. In addition, the Flory Huggins theory for polymer solutions and their phase separation is treated more rigorously.
Part III
A completely new, major topic in this section is multicomponent polymer systems. The book also incorporates new material on macromolecular dynamics and reptation, liquid crystalline polymers and thermal analysis. Many of the diagrams and micrographs have been updated to more clearly highlight features of polymer morphology.
Part IV
The last part of the book contains major new sections on polymer composites, such as nanocomposites, and electrical properties of polymers. Other new topics include effects of chain entanglements, swelling of elastomers, polymer fibres, impact behaviour and ductile fracture. Coverage of rubber-toughening of brittle plastics has also been revised and expanded.
While this edition adds many new concepts, the philosophy of the book remains unchanged. Largely self-contained, the text fully derives most equations and cross-references topics between chapters where appropriate. Each chapter not only includes a list of further reading to help readers expand their knowledge of the subject but also provides problem sets to test understanding, particularly of numerical aspects.