Epoxy resins are regarded as thermosetting resins and have found various c- mercial applications after crosslinking with adequate curing agents [1-3]. H- ever, some epoxy resins have been used as thermoplastic resins without curing agents. Figure 1 shows the applications of epoxy resins that are classi?ed to three categories: thermosets in combination with curing agents, thermoplastics wi- out curing agents, and raw materials for modi?cation. The use in thermoplastics is not popular compared with the two other applications. Typical thermoplastic applications are found in stabilizers for vinyl resins, toners for copying - chines, ?re retardants for engineering plastics, and sizing material for glass or carbon ?bers. The epoxy resin most frequently used is the oligomer of the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) whose chemical structure is shown below [1-3]. The DGEBA is composed of linear molecules with different molecular weights according to the variation of the repeated number (n) in the structural formula.

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The second edition of this textbook is identical with its fourth German edi tion and it thus has the same goals: precise definition of basic phenomena, a broad survey of the whole field, integrated representation of chemistry, physics, and technology, and a balanced treatment of facts and comprehen sion. The book thus intends to bridge the gap between the often oversimpli fied introductory textbooks and the highly specialized texts and monographs that cover only parts of macromolecular science. The text intends to survey the whole field of macromolecular science. Its organization results from the following considerations. The chemical structure of macromolecular compounds should be inde pendent of the method of synthesis, at least in the ideal case. Part I is thus concerned with the chemical and physical structure of polymers. Properties depend on structure. Solution properties are thus discussed in Part II, solid state properties in Part III. There are other reasons for dis cussing properties before synthesis: For example, it is difficult to understand equilibrium polymerization without knowledge of solution thermodynamics, the gel effect without knowledge of the glass transition temperature, etc. Part IV treats the principles of macromolecular syntheses and reactions.

Conformations and Solution Properties of Star-Branched Polyelectrolytes, by Oleg V. Borisov, Ekaterina B. Zhulina, Frans A. M. Leermakers, Matthias Ballauff and Axel H. E. Muller; Self-Assembled Structures of Amphiphilic Ionic Block Copolymers: Theory, Self-Consistent Field Modeling and Experiment, by Oleg V. Borisov, Ekaternia B. Zhulina, Frans A. M. Leermakers and Axel H. E. Muller; Interpolyelectrolyte Complexes Based on Polyionic Species of Branched Topology, by Dmitry V. Pergushov, Oleg V. Borisov, Alexander B. Zezin and Axel H. E. Muller; Co-assembly of Charged Copolymers as a Novel Pathway Towards Reversible Janus Micelles, by Ilja K. Voets, Frans A. Leermakers, Arie de Keizer, Marat Charlaganov and Martien A. Cohen Stuart; Fluorescence Spectroscopy as a Tool for Investigating the Self-Organized Polyelectrolyte Systems, by Karel Prochazka, Zuzana Limpouchova, Filip Uhlik, Peter Kosovan, Pavel Matejicek, Miroslav Stepanek, Mariusz Uchman, Jitka Kuldova, Radek Sachl, Jana Humpolickova, and M. Hof

Das Buch enthalt Kapitel uber: N. Kinjo, M. Ogata, Ibaraki-ken; K. Nishi, Tokyo; A. Kaneda, Yokohama, Japan: Epoxyd-Formmassen als Einschlussmaterialien fur mikroelektronische Gerate Yu.S. Lipatov, T.E. Lipatova, L.F. Kosyanchuk, Kiev, UdSSR: Synthese und Struktur struktureller Makromolekule K. Horie, I. Mita, Tokyo, Japan: Reaktionen und Photodynamik in polymeren Festkorpern Yu.K. Godovsky, V.S. Papkov, Moskau, UdSSR: Thermotrope Mesophasen elementorganischer Polymere

This monograph gives a detailed introductory exposition of research results for various models, mostly two-dimensional, of directed walks, interfaces, wetting, surface adsorption (of polymers), stacks, compact clusters (lattice animals), etc. The unifying feature of these models is that in most cases they can be solved analytically. The methods used include transfer matrices, generating functions, recurrence relations, and difference equations, and in some cases involve utilization of less familiar mathematical techniques such as continued fractions and q-series. The authors emphasize an overall view of what can be learned generally of the statistical mechanics of anisotropic systems, including phenomena near surfaces, by studying the solvable models. Thus, the concept of scaling and, where known, finite-size scaling properties are elucidated. Scaling and statistical mechanics of anisoptropic systems in general are active research topics. The volume provides a comprehensive survey of exact model results in this field.

The 9th Symposium on Analytical Ultracentrifugation (AUC) which was held at the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin-Buch, March, 1995, is the basis of this volume. It presents an actual survey of recent developments and results of ultracentrifugation methods in the frame of the following topics: Reversible Association Reactions.- Analysis of Supramolecular Structures Including Modeling.- Size Distribution Analysis and Gel Formation.- Hardware and Software Developments."

The liquid crystalline state may be identified as a distinct and unique state of matter which is characterised by properties which resemble those of both solids and liquids. It was first recognised in the middle of the last century through the study of nerve myelin and derivatives of cholesterol. The research in the area really gathered momentum, however, when as a result of the pioneering work of Gray in the early 1970's organic compounds exhibiting liquid crystalline properties were shown to be suitable to form the basis of display devices in the electronic products. The study of liquid crystals is truly multidisciplinary and has attached the attention of physicists, biologists, chemists, mathematicians and electronics engineers. It is therefore impossible to cover all these aspects fully in two small volumes and therefore it was decided in view of the overall title of the series to concentrate on the structural and bonding aspects of the subject. The Chapters presented in these two volumes have been organised to cover the following fundamental aspects of the subiect. The calculation of the structures of liquid crystals, an account of their dynamical properties and a discussion of computer simulations of liquid crystalline phases formed by Gay Berne mesogens. The relationships between molecular conformation and packing are analysed in some detail. The crystal structures of liquid crystal mesogens and the importance of their X ray scattering properties for characterisational purposes are discussed.

Improvement of the catalytic properties of biological catalysts is equally important in the optimization of industrial processes as in the fundamental understanding of the catalytic machinery at the molecular level. The approaches taken are diverse and span from purely result-oriented, but nevertheless methodologically subtle, making and screening of combinatorial libraries to highly sophisticated tailoring of the environment of active sites. This volume illustrates four different concepts for modifying a given biocatalyst framework or create novel functions using Nature's basic building blocks. Summing up the state-of-the-art biocatalyst engineering it, serves as an orientational landmark and a platform for the specialist and non-expert alike to keep abreast of developments in this rapidly evolving field.

This series presents critical reviews of the present and future trends in polymer and biopolymer science including chemistry, physical chemistry, physics and materials science. It is addressed to all scientists at universities and in industry who wish to keep abreast of advances in the topics covered.

Impact Factor Ranking: Always number one in Polymer Science. More information as well as the electronic version of the whole content available at: www.springerlink.com

F.J. Balta-Calleja, A. Gonzalez Arche, T.A. Ezquerra, C. Santa Cruz, F. Batallan, B. Frick, G.A. Arche, E. Lopez Cabarcos, Structure and Properties of Ferroelectric Copolymers of Poly (vinylidene) Fluoride H.G. Kilian, T. Pieper Packing of Chain Segments: A Method for Describing X-Ray Patterns of Crystalline, Liquid Crystalline and Non-Crystalline Polymers K. Miyasaka PVA-Iodine Complexes: Formation, Structure and Properties

While books have been written on many topics of Polymer Science, no compre hensive treatise on long chain branching has ever been composed. This series of reviews in Volume 142 and 143 of Advances in Polymer Science tries to fill this gap by highlighting active areas of research on branched polymers. Long chain branching is a phenomenon observed in synthetic polymers and in some natural polysaccharides. It has long been recognized as a major mole cular parameter of macromolecules. Its presence was first surmised by H. Stau dinger and G. V. Schuh (Ber. 68, 2320, 1935). Interestingly, their method of iden tification by means of the abnormal relation between intrinsic viscosity and molecular weight has survived to this day. Indeed, the most sophisticated method for analysis of long chain branching uses size exclusion fractionation with the simultaneous recording of mass, molecular weight and intrinsic visco sity of the fractions. In the 1940s and 1950s, random branching in polymers and its effect on their properties was studied by Stockmayer, Flory, Zimm and many others. Their work remains a milestone on the subject to this day. Flory dedicated several chapters of his "Principles of Polymer Chemistry" to non linear polymers. Especially important at that time was the view that randomly branched polymers are inter mediates to polymeric networks. Further developments in randomly branched polymers came from the introduction of percolation theory. The modern aspec ts of this topic are elaborated here in the chapter by W. Burchard.

The two volumes "New Developments in Polymer Analytics" deal with recent progress in the characterization of polymers, mostly in solution but also at s- faces. Despite the fact that almost all of the described techniques are getting on in years, the contributions are expected to meet the readers interest because either the methods are newly applied to polymers or the instrumentation has achieved a major breakthrough leading to an enhanced utilizaton by polymer scientists. The first volume concentrates on separation techniques. H. Pasch summarizes the recent successes of multi-dimensional chromatography in the characteri- tion of copolymers. Both, chain length distribution and the compositional h- erogeneity of copolymers are accessible. Capillary electrophoresis is widely and successfully utilized for the characterization of biopolymers, particular of DNA. It is only recently that the technique has been applied to the characterization of water soluble synthetic macromolecules. This contributrion of Grosche and Engelhardt focuses on the analysis of polyelectrolytes by capillary electopho- sis. The last contribution of the first volume by Coelfen and Antonietti sum- rizes the achievements and pitfalls of field flow fractionation techniques. The major drawbacks in the instrumentation have been overcome in recent years and the"triple F techniques" are currently advancing to a powerful competitor to size exclusion chromatography.