Beads made from Egyptian faience have been excavated from grave deposits (c. 4000-3100 BC), together with beads of glazed steatite (a soft rock) and of se- precious stones such as turquoise, carnelian, quartz, and lapis lazuli. Information on these and many more ancient beads used for ornaments and jewelry, ritual ceremonies, as art artifacts and gifts for amorous women throughout history, and descriptions of the raw materials (e. g. , glass, bone, precious and other stones) and manufacturing technologies used for their production can be located in many references. Many books are devoted to the description of beads that are not of water-soluble polymer origin, techniques for their production, their art, value, and distribution, re?ecting the wealth of information existing in this ?eld of science and art. On the other hand, there are no books fully devoted to the fascinating topic of hydrocolloid (polymeric) beads and their unique applications. A few books c- tain scattered chapters and details on such topics, while emphasizing the possibility of locating fragments of information elsewhere; however, again, there is no book that is solely devoted to hydrocolloid beads and their versatile applications. In the meantime, the use of water-soluble hydrocolloid beads is on the rise in many ?elds, making a book that covers both past and novel applications of such beads, as well as their properties and ways in which to manipulate them, crucial.

This book describes current advances in the research on membranes and applications in industry, groundwater, and desalination processes. Topics range from synthesis of new polymers to preparation of membranes using new water treatments for effluents, graphite membranes, development of polymeric and ceramic materials for production of membranes intended to separate gases and liquids, and liquid-liquid phases. The authors include materials used to produce catalytic membranes for polymer synthesis. The book also details theoretical approaches and simulation of membrane processes and parameters and design.

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

MOLECULAR WEIGHr CHANGES AND NE1WORK FORMATION BY SCISSION AND CROSSUNKING A. Charlesby 1 Introduction Main Chain Scission of Polymers ____________________________ _ ________________________ _ 1 Crosslinking ______ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __ . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . ___ . . _. __ . . . . _. _. _____ . _____ . _ 4 5 Random Crosslinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enhanced Crosslinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Other Forms of Crosslinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Combined Crosslinking and Scission ___________ _________________ ______ _ ______________ . _. _. 11 Antioxidants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Fillers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . __ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __ . . . 12 Crosslinking of Polymers in Solution ________________________________ . . ______________ . . . . __ 12 References _. __ _ 13 HIGH ENERGY RADIATION-AND UV UGHr-INDUCED CROSSLINKING AND CHAIN SCISSION w. Schnabel Introduction 15 Importance of Radiation-Induced Crosslinking and Main-Chain Scission in Linear Polymers ___________________________ _________________ 15 TYPes of Radiation and Radiation Sources _. ___________________________ . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . _. _. _ . . __ . . . 16 Absorption of Radiation . . _ . . . . _ . . . . . . _ . . _ . . __ . _ . . . . . . . . ____ . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . __ . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . _ . . . . . . _ . . . _ . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . __ . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . _____ . . . . . . . . . ___ . . . 16 General Aspects Concerning XL and CS in Linear Polymers ______________________ . _________ . _____ . _____ 22 Random and Specific Site Attacks . . . . . . . _. ____ . _ . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . __ . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . ___ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . _ . . . . . __ . . . . _ . . . . . . _ . . . . __ . ___ . . . . . . . . . . __ . . _ 22 Detection of XL and CS . . . _. _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _. __ . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . ___ . . . . . . . __ . . . _ . . . _ . . . . . . . . ____ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . _ . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . __ . . . . . _ . . . . _ . . . . . _. _ . . . . _ . . . . . . . 22 Simultaneous XL and CS Mechanisms 25 Ion Beam-Induced Radiation Effects In Linear Polymers ____________________________________________________ .

This book presents a comprehensive study on a new class of branched polymers, known as hyperbranched polymers (HBPs). It discusses in detail the synthesis strategies for these particular classes of polymers as well as biocompatible and biodegradable HBPs, which are of increasing interest to polymer technologists due to their immense potential in biomedical applications. The book also describes the one-pot synthesis technique for HBPs, which is feasible for large-scale production, as well as HBPs' structure-property relationship, which makes them superior to their linear counterparts. The alterable functional groups present at the terminal ends of the branches make HBPs promising candidates in the biomedical domain, and the book specifically elaborates on the suitable characteristic properties of each of the potential biological HBPs' applications. As such, the book offers a valuable reference guide for all scientists and technologists who are interested in using these newly developed techniques to achieve faster and better treatments.

The free-radical retrograde-precipitation polymerization (FRRPP) process was introduced by the author in the early 1990s as a chain polymerization method, whereby phase separation is occurring while reactive sites are above the lower cr- ical solution temperature (LCST). It was evident that certain regions of the product polymer attain temperatures above the average ?uid temperature, sometimes rea- ing carbonization temperatures. During the early stages of polymerization-induced phase separation, nanoscale polymer domains were also found to be persistent in the reacting system, in apparent contradiction with results of microstructural coarsening from constant-temperature modeling and experimental studies. This mass con?- ment behavior was used for micropatterning, for entrapment of reactive radical sites, and for the formation of block copolymers that can be used as intermediates, surf- tants, coatings, coupling agents, foams, and hydrogels. FRRPP-based materials and its mechanism have also been proposed to be relevant in energy and environmentally responsible applications. This technology lacks intellectual appeal compared to others that have been p- posed to produce polymers of exotic architectures. There are no special chemical mediators needed. Control of conditions and product distribution is done by p- cess means, based on a robust and ?exible free-radical-based chemistry. Thus, it can readily be implemented in the laboratory and in production scale.

Synthetic Polymers is a comprehensive introduction to the technologies involved in the synthesis of the main classes of engineering high polymers used in such materials as plastics, fibers, rubbers, foams, adhesives and coatings. Besides the basic processes, this volume includes information on physical, chemical and mechanical characteristics - key factors with respect to obtaining the right end products. It also focuses on the main application of synthetic polymers in different engineering areas and gives data on production and consumption. Over 60 technological flowcharts are presented in a clear and concise manner, to provide the reader with essential information on relevant operations.

This book addresses a broad range of issues concerning microplastic pollution, including microplastic pollution in various environments (freshwater, marine, air and soil); the sources, fate and effects of microplastics; detection systems for microplastic pollution monitoring; green approaches for the synthesis of environmentally friendly polymers; recovery and recycling of marine plastics; wastewater treatment plants as a microplastic entrance route; nanoplastics as emerging pollutants; degradation of plastics in the marine environment; impacts of microplastics on marine life; microplastics: from marine pollution to the human food chain; mitigation of microplastic impacts and innovative solutions; sampling, extraction, purification and identification approaches for microplastics; adsorption and transport of pollutants on and in microplastics; and lastly, the socio-economic and environmental impacts: assessment and risk analysis. In addition to presenting cutting-edge information and highlighting current trends and issues, the book proposes concrete solutions to help face this significant environmental threat. It is chiefly intended for researchers and industry decision-makers; international, national and local institutions; and NGOs, providing them with comprehensive information on the origin of the problem; its effects on marine environments, with a particular focus on the Mediterranean Sea and coasts; and recent and ongoing research activities and projects aimed at finding technical solutions to mitigate the phenomenon.

This book presents a comprehensive survey about the most recent developments in industrial applications, processing techniques and modifications of polymers from marine sources. It systematically introduces the reader to the biomaterials Chitin, Collagen, Alginates, Cellulose and Polyesters and links their interwoven industrial significance and environmental implications. The book elucidates the impact of industrial sourcing of the aquatic system for organic and inorganic matter on the environment and deepens the understanding of the industrial and economic significance of aquatic biopolymers. Further it addresses the question of how to balance the conservation of aquatic life and the industrial and economic interest in developing biodegradable alternatives for plastic. Thus the book will appeal to scientists in the field of chemistry, materials and polymer science as well as engineering.

This book delivers a comprehensive overview of the characteristics of several types of materials that are widely used in the current era of supercapacitors; namely, architectured carbon materials, transition metal oxides and conducting polymers. It provides readers with a complete introduction to the fundamentals of supercapacitors, including the development of new electrolytes and electrodes, while highlighting the advantages, challenges, applications and future of these materials. This book is part of the Handbook of Nanocomposite Supercapacitor Materials. Supercapacitors have emerged as promising devices for electrochemical energy storage, playing an important role in energy harvesting for meeting the current demands of increasing global energy consumption. The handbook covers the materials science and engineering of nanocomposite supercapacitors, ranging from their general characteristics and performance to materials selection, design and construction. Covering both fundamentals and recent developments, this handbook serves a readership encompassing students, professionals and researchers throughout academia and industry, particularly in the fields of materials chemistry, electrochemistry, and energy storage and conversion. It is ideal as a reference work and primary resource for any introductory senior-level undergraduate or beginning graduate course covering supercapacitors.

Advances in Polymer Science enjoys a longstanding tradition and good reputation in its community. Each volume is dedicated to a current topic, and each review critically surveys one aspect of that topic, to place it within the context of the volume. The volumes typically summarize the significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years and discuss them critically, presenting selected examples, explaining and illustrating the important principles, and bringing together many important references of primary literature. On that basis, future research directions in the area can be discussed. Advances in Polymer Science volumes thus are important references for every polymer scientist, as well as for other scientists interested in polymer science - as an introduction to a neighboring field, or as a compilation of detailed information for the specialist.

Intrigued as much by its complex nature as by its outsider status in traditional organic chemistry, the editors of The Organic Chemistry of Sugars compile a groundbreaking resource in carbohydrate chemistry that illustrates the ease at which sugars can be manipulated in a variety of organic reactions. Each chapter contains numerous examples demonstrating the methods and strategies that apply mainstream organic chemistry to the chemical modification of sugars. The book first describes the discovery, development, and impact of carbohydrates, followed by a discussion of protecting group strategies, glycosylation techniques, and oligosaccharide syntheses. Several chapters focus on reactions that convert sugars and carbohydrates to non-carbohydrate molecules including the substitution of sugar hydroxyl groups to new groups of synthetic or biological interest, cyclitols and carbasugars, as well as endocyclic heteroatom substitutions. Subsequent chapters demonstrate the use of sugars in chiral catalysis, their roles as convenient starting materials for complex syntheses involving multiple stereogenic centers, and syntheses for monosaccharides. The final chapters focus on new and emerging technologies, including approaches to combinatorial carbohydrate chemistry, the biological importance and chemical synthesis of glycopeptides, and the medicinally significant concept of glycomimetics. Presenting the organic chemistry of sugars as a solution to many complex synthetic challenges, The Organic Chemistry of Sugars provides a comprehensive treatment of the manipulation of sugars and their importance in mainstream organic chemistry. Daniel E. Levy, editor of the Drug Discovery Series, is the founder of DEL BioPharma, a consulting service for drug discovery programs. He also maintains a blog that explores organic chemistry.

To the biochemist, water is, of course, the only solvent worthy of consideration, because natural macromolecules exhibit their remarkable conformational properties only in aqueous media. Probably because of these remarkable properties, biochemists do not tend to regard proteins, nucleotides and polysaccharides as polymers in the way that real polymer scientists regard methyl methacrylate and polyethylene. The laws of polymer statistics hardly apply to native biopolymers. Between these two powerful camps, lies the No-man's land of water soluble synthetic polymers: here, we must also include natural polymers which have been chemically modified. The scientific literature of these compounds is characterized by a large number of patents, which is usually a sign of little basic understanding, of 'know-how' rather than of 'know-why'. Many of the physical properties of such aqueous solutions are intriguing: the polymer may be completely miscible with water, and yet water is a 'poor' solvent, in terms of polymer parlance. ~kiny of the polymers form thermorever sible gels on heating or cooling. The phenomena of exothermic mixing and salting-in are common features of such systems: neither can be fully explained by the available theories. Finally, the eccentric behaviour of polyelectrolytes is well documented. Despite the lack of a sound physico-chemical foundation there is a general awareness of the importance of water soluble vinyl, acrylic, polyether, starch and cellulose derivatives, as witnessed again by ~he vast patent literature.

In an ever-increasing domain of activity Amino Acids Peptides and Proteins provides an annual compilation of the world's research effort into this important area of biological chemistry. Volume 30 provides a review of literature published during 1997. Comprising a comprehensive review of significant developments at this biology/chemistry interface each volume opens with an overview of amino acids and their applications. Work on peptides is reviewed over several chapters ranging from current trends in their synthesis and conformational and structural analysis to peptidomimetics and the discovery of peptide-related molecules in nature. The application of advanced techniques in structural elucidation is incorporated into all chapters whilst periodic chapters on metal complexes of amino acids, peptides and beta-lactams extend the scope of coverage. Efficient searching of specialist topics is facilitated by the sub-division of chapters into discrete subject areas allowing annual trends to be monitored. All researchers in the pharmaceutical and allied industries and at the biology/chemistry interface in academia will find this an indispensable reference source.

Although size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is perhaps the most popular and widely used technique for determining the molecular weight distribution of polymeric materials, there have been very few texts written on this topic. During the past decade, SEC has experienced a considerable amount of growth in regard to column and detector technology and new applications. With these advances, SEC can now be used for determining absolute molecular weight, polymer chain conformation and size, and branching, as well as polymer solution properties. This book introduces the reader to the fundamentals of SEC with emphasis on practical aspects of the technique, such as column and mobile selection, calibration, new detector capabilities and guidelines for performing SEC on most types of polymers, especially those of industrial importance. This book is intended for either those new to the field of SEC, or for those research workers who require a more comprehensive background.

This book is a snapshot of the current state of the art of research and development on the properties and characteristics of silk and their use in medicine and industry. The field encompasses backyard silk production from ancient time to industrial methods in the modern era and includes an example of efforts to maintain silk production on Madagascar. Once revered as worth its weight in gold, silk has captured the imagination from its mythical origins onwards. The latest methods in molecular biology have opened new descriptions of the underlying properties of silk. Advances in technological innovation have created silk production by microbes as the latest breakthrough in the saga of silk research and development. The application of silk to biomaterials is now very active on the basis of excellent properties of silks including recombinant silks for biomaterials and the accumulated structural information.

In recent years the most significant advances in carbohydrate research have been made in the knowledge of the structure and function of carbohydrates in the macromolecular state. This title addresses those areas of the subject in which the authors believe the most important work is being carried out.

The series Advances in Polymer Science presents critical reviews of the present and future trends in polymer and biopolymer science. It covers all areas of research in polymer and biopolymer science including chemistry, physical chemistry, physics, material science. The thematic volumes are addressed to scientists, whether at universities or in industry, who wish to keep abreast of the important advances in the covered topics. Advances in Polymer Science enjoy a longstanding tradition and good reputation in its community. Each volume is dedicated to a current topic, and each review critically surveys one aspect of that topic, to place it within the context of the volume. The volumes typically summarize the significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years and discuss them critically, presenting selected examples, explaining and illustrating the important principles, and bringing together many important references of primary literature. On that basis, future research directions in the area can be discussed. Advances in Polymer Science volumes thus are important references for every polymer scientist, as well as for other scientists interested in polymer science - as an introduction to a neighboring field, or as a compilation of detailed information for the specialist. Review articles for the individual volumes are invited by the volume editors. Single contributions can be specially commissioned. Readership: Polymer scientists, or scientists in related fields interested in polymer and biopolymer science, at universities or in industry, graduate students.

This book presents the "helical wormlike chain" model - a general model for both flexible and semiflexible polymer chains. It explains how statistical-mechanical, hydrodynamic, and dynamic theories of their solution properties can be developed on the basis of this model. This new second edition has been carefully updated and thoroughly revised. It includes a new chapter covering "Simulation and More on Excluded-Volume Effects", as well as the discussion of new experimental data and the application of the theory to ring polymers. The authors provide analysis of important recent experimental data by the use of their theories for flexible polymers over a wide range of molecular weights, including the oligomer region, and for semiflexible polymers, including biological macromolecules such as DNA. This is all clearly illustrated using a reasonable number of theoretical equations, tables, figures, and computer-aided forms, which support the understanding of the basic theory and help to facilitate its application to experimental data for the polymer molecular characterization.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the freezing of colloidal suspensions and explores cutting-edge research in the field. It is the first book to deal with this phenomenon from a multidisciplinary perspective, and examines the various occurrences, their technological uses, the fundamental phenomena, and the different modeling approaches. Its chapters integrate input from fields as diverse as materials science, physics, biology, mathematics, geophysics, and food science, and therefore provide an excellent point of departure for anyone interested in the topic. The main content is supplemented by a wealth of figures and illustrations to elucidate the concepts presented, and includes a final chapter providing advice for those starting out in the field. As such, the book provides an invaluable resource for materials scientists, physicists, biologists, and mathematicians, and will also benefit food engineers, civil engineers, and materials processing professionals.

The basic problem of polymer physics is obtaining 'structure-properties' correlations for their future application for practical purposes. However, these cannot be obtained without the development of a quantitative model of the polymer structure.
This problem has been actively investigated during the last 45 years, which resulted in obtaining a great amount of experimental (mostly indirect) proofs of existence of the local order in the polymer amorphous state. Now, the time has come for creating a structural model of polymer basing based on the local order ideas. The cluster model, as presented in this monograph, of the polymer amorphous state structure represents the realization of such attempts.
The development of this cluster model is based on well-known experimental observation: the behavior of glassy polymers in the area of stimulated high-elasticity plateau is described in the framework of rubber elasticity concepts. This gives an opportunity to present the local order (cluster) zone as a multifunctional entanglement of the physical network consisting of several collinear closely packed segments of different macromolecules (the amorphous analogue of crystallite with extended chains) and surrounded by a packless matrix. An independent method for assessing local order zone fraction in the structure has been elaborated. Segment length in the cluster equals the length of the chain statistical segment that gives a correlation between molecular and structural parameters of the polymer.
Application of the cluster model allowed description and obtaining of analytical 'structure-properties' correlations for many processes proceeding in polymers: elasticity, yielding, degradation, transport, some thermodynamic processes, structural relaxation, plasticization, structural stabilization at thermo-oxidative degradation, etc.
The relation between the cluster model and some modern physical concepts, for instance fractal analysis, fluctuation free volume kinetic theory, percolation theory, irreversible colloidal aggregation models, are outlined.
A separate chapter is devoted to the features of formation and control of the relative part of local order zones in non-crystalline domains of semi-crystalline polymers and their connection to the structure of crystallites.

This book details all current techniques for converting bulk polymers into nano-size materials. The authors highlight various physical and chemical approaches for preparation of nano-size polymers. They describe the properties of these materials and their extensive potential commercial applications.

Vincent Bulone et al.: Cellulose sources and new understanding of synthesis in plants Thomas Heinze et al.:Cellulose structure and properties Thomas Rosenau, Antje Potthast, Ute Henniges et al.: Recent developments in cellulose aging (degradation / yellowing / chromophore formation) Sunkyu Park et al.:Cellulose crystallinity Lina Zhang et al.:Gelation and dissolution behavior of cellulose Yoshiyuki Nishio et al.:Cellulose and derivatives in liquid crystals Alessandro Gandini, Naceur Belgacem et al.:The surface and in-depth modification of cellulose fibers Emily D. Cranston et al.:Interfacial properties of cellulose Herbert Sixta, Michael Hummel et al.Cellulose Fibers Regenerated from Cellulose Solutions in Ionic Liquids Qi Zhou et al.:Cellulose-based biocomposites Orlando Rojas et al.:Films of cellulose nanocrystals and nanofibrils Pedro Fardim et al.:Functional cellulose particles Wadood Hamad et al.:Cellulose Composites