This book introduces the reader to a wide range of polymer characterization techniques including thermal, rheological, mechanical, relaxational, scattering, and spectroscopic anaylses. In addition to discussing the techniques and their experimental considerations in general, Polymer Characterization Techniques and Their Application to Blends demonstrates how the techniques are applied to polymer systems and how the data obtained are analyzed and interpreted. Practical examples of each technique are drawn from analyses of polymer blends. Thus, each chapter serves as a review of the blend literature as well as a description of the characterization method.

From the Preface: “...To be able to manipulate polymer properties and performance, we need to be able to characterize polymers well. This applies to the property of interest, as well as to understanding the molecular behavior of the material. In this way we can hope to design and influence new and better materials, be it in terms of chemistry, processing, post-treatments, and so on. This book seeks to lay out the basics of many of the most-used techniques in polymer science...”

Target Audience: Researchers and technologists in academia and industry who are concerned with polymer characterization techniques and their application to blends.

Table of Contents:

Overview of Polymer Blends Characterization

Application of Differential Scanning Calorimetry to Analysis of Polymer Blends

Dynamic Mechanical Analysis

Dielectric Relaxation and Thermal Stimulated Currents

Polarized Light Optical Microscopy

Infrared Analysis

Fracture Behavior of Polymer Blends

Thermogravimetry

Tensile Properties, Creep, and Stress Relaxation

Gas Permeability in Polymer Blends

Light and X-Ray Scatterings

Small-Angle Neutron Scattering in Polymer Blends

Characterization of Polymer Blends Using Rheological Methods

Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy

Electron Microscopy of Polymer Blends

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies of Polymer Blends

Index