Table Of ContentThe Practical Approach in Chemistry Series
SERIES EDITORS
L. M. Harwood C. J. Moody
Department of Chemistry Department of Chemistry
University of Reading University of Exeter
The Practical Approach in Chemistry Series
Organocopper reagents
Edited by Richard J. K. Taylor
Macrocycle synthesis
Edited by David Parker
High-pressure techniques in chemistry and physics
Edited by Wilfried B. Holzapfel and Neil S. Isaacs
Preparation of alkenes
Edited by Jonathan M. J. Williams
Transition metals in organic synthesis
Edited By Susan E. Gibson (née Thomas)
Matrix-isolation techniques
Ian R. Dunkin
Lewis acid reagents
Edited by Hisashi Yamamoto
Organozinc acid reagents
Edited by Paul Knochel and Philip Jones
Amino acid derivatives
Edited by Graham C. Barrett
Asymmetric oxidation reactions
Edited by Tsutomu Katsuki
Nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur ylide chemistry
Edited by J. Stephen Clark
Organophosphorus reagents
Edited by Patrick J. Murphy
Polymer chemistry
Edited by Fred J. Davis
Polymer Chemistry
A Practical Approach
Edited by
FRED J. DAVIS
The School of Chemistry,
The University of Reading,UK
1
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ISBN 0 19 850309 1 (Hbk)
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To my wife Jacqueline,my children Charlie,William,Gracie,and
Briony,and to my late mother Mrs Josephine P. Davis
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Preface
It is some time since Laurence Harwood suggested to me the idea of this
volume of the Practical Approach in Organic Chemistry series, and whilst
initially I could see the value of such a contribution,as the subsequent delay
in production testifies,I have had some difficulty in transposing this topic to a
relatively small text. There are many scientific publications devoted entirely
to the area of polymer synthesis, with tens of thousand pages devoted to the
topic in the scientific literature every year I have focused on those aspects of
the topic which I find interesting,and consequently there are certainly many
omissions. I hope, however, that the examples I have included will give a
flavour of what can be achieved (generally without recourse to highly spe-
cialized equipment) in terms of the development of novel macromolecular
systems. As with all the volumes in the Practical Approach Series,this book
aims to provide a detailed and accessible laboratory guide suitable for those
new to the area of polymer synthesis. The protocols contained within this
manuscript provide information about solvent purification, equipment and
reaction conditions,and list some potential problems and hazards. The latter
point is particularly important and in most instances I have referred to the
manufacturers’safety data sheet (MSDS, which companies such as Merck
and Aldrich provide on-line); however,often these vary in detail from source-
to-source and from time-to-time, and of course local rules always must take
precedance.
I am particularly indebted to the contributors to this work for their excel-
lent efforts and prompt responses to my requests. I am also grateful to my
postgraduate students, particularly Dario Castiglione and Vidhu Mahendra
for checking some of the experimental details, and to my colleague at
Reading Dr Wayne Hayes for his constant enthusiasm and advice.
Fred J. Davis
Reading
December 2003
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Contents
Contributors xiii
Abbreviations xvii
1. Polymer characterization 1
Ian L. Hosier,Alun S. Vaughan, Geoffrey R. Mitchell, Jintana
Siripitayananon, and Fred J. Davis
1. Introduction 1
2. Synthetic routes to polymers 2
3. Molecular weight determination 4
4. Composition and microstructure 7
5. Optical microscopy 9
6. Electron microscopy 11
7. Analytical microscopy 14
8. Scanning probe microscopy 16
9. Thermal analysis 18
10. Molecular relaxation spectroscopy 21
11. X-ray and neutron scattering methods 24
12. Conclusions 32
References 33
2. General procedures in chain-growth
polymerization 43
Najib Aragrag, Dario C. Castiglione, Paul R. Davies,
Fred J. Davis, and Sangdil I. Patel
1. Introduction 43
2. Free-radical chain polymerization 44
3. Anionic polymerization 67
4. Ring-opening polymerizations initiated by anionic reagents 83
5. Coordination polymers 90
6. Conclusions 95
References 95
