The first concern of scientists who are interested in synthetic polymers
has always been, and still is: How are they synthesized? But right after
this comes the question: What have I made, and for what is it good? This
leads to the important topic of the structure-property relations to
which this book is devoted. Polymers are very large and very complicated
systems; their character- ization has to begin with the chemical
composition, configuration, and con- formation of the individual
molecule. The first chapter is devoted to this broad objective. The
immediate physical consequences, discussed in the second chapter, form
the basis for the physical nature of polymers: the supermolecular
interactions and arrangements of the individual macromolecules. The
third chapter deals with the important question: How are these chemical
and physical structures experimentally determined? The existing methods
for polymer characterization are enumerated and discussed in this
chapter. The following chapters go into more detail. For most
applications-textiles, films, molded or extruded objects of all
kinds-the mechanical and the thermal behaviors of polymers are of pre-
ponderant importance, followed by optical and electric properties.
Chapters 4 through 9 describe how such properties are rooted in and
dependent on the chemical structure. More-detailed considerations are
given to certain particularly important and critical properties such as
the solubility and permeability of polymeric systems. Macromolecules are
not always the final goal of the chemist-they may act as intermediates,
reactants, or catalysts. This topic is presented in Chapters 10 and 11.
