This book is a practical manual for those who analyze polymers. Self-contained chapters describe when a technique should be selected, explain its basic principles, describe how instruments are constructed and operated, and teach how the data obtained relate to molecular structure and physical properties. Recommended.

From the Preface: “A large fraction of chemists are employed in the polymer industry. Many are new graduates, and many others come from other segments of the industry or from academia. Frequently these people enter the industry in some phase of polymer characterization and find the challenges daunting...The book is not a research manual but, rather, a guide to performing and understanding polymer characterization, as well as an entree to the specialized literature of the analytical chemistry of polymers...”

Target Audience: Entry-level polymer scientists, research technologists, laboratory specialists, and others who are called on to analyze and characterize polymers.

Table of Contents:

Introduction to Polymer Characterization

Measurement of Molecular Weight and Molecular Weight Distribution

Atomic, Functional Group, and Monomeric Analysis of Polymers:

Instrumental Elemental Analysis of Polymeric Materials

Chemical Analysis

Chromatographic Methods:

Gel Permeation Chromatography

High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Gas Chromatography

Field-Flow Fractionation Characterization

Methods to Determine the Molecular Structure of Polymers:

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometry

Vibrational Spectroscopy

Mass Spectrometry

Steady-State Fluorescence

Methods to Characterize the Molecular Organization of Polymers:

Thermal Analysis

X-Ray Diffraction

Analysis of Polymer Surfaces:

Surface Energy

Electron, Ion, and Mass Spectrometry

Optical Methods for Three-Dimensional Visualization: Photon Tunneling Microscopy and Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy

Light Microscopy

Atomic Force Microscopy

Performance Properties:

Behavior in Solvents

Particle Size and Particle Size Distribution

Polymer Rheology: Principles, Techniques, and Applications

Mechanical Properties

Dielectric Properties

Transport and Barrier Properties

Flammability and Fire Performance

Index