This book covers various molecular, metal-organic, dynamic covalent, polymer and other gels, focusing on their driving interactions, structures and properties. It consists of six chapters demonstrating interesting examples of these gels, classified by the type of driving interaction, and also discusses the effect of these interactions on the gels' structures and properties. The book offers an interesting and useful guide for a broad readership in various fields of chemical and materials science.

This book presents select papers presented at the annual meeting of the Asian Polymer Association. The chapters in this volume document and report on a wide range of significant recent results for various applications, as well as scientific developments in the areas of polymer science and engineering. The chapters include original research from all areas of polymer science and technology with a focus on the manufacture, processing, analysis and application of long chain polymer molecules. This book will be of interest to researchers in academia and industry alike.

This book highlights novel applications of innovative fabrics in the design of an interlayer between the scalp and the helmet lining of motorcycle helmets to control the temperature inside the helmet. It examines various fibre microstructure configurations and fibre treatments in terms of their ability to assist in the dissipation of heat from the scalp. The findings presented here will be of considerable benefit to motorcyclists in South East Asia and other tropical regions.

This book describes the design, fabrication and evaluation of a polymer-based neural interface for a cochlear electrode array, reviewed in terms of fabrication process, functionality, and reliability. Polymer-based devices have attracted attention in the neural prosthetic field due to their flexibility and compatibility with micro-fabrication process. A liquid crystal polymer (LCP) is an inert, highly water-resistant polymer suitable for the encapsulation of electronic components and as a substrate material for fabricating neural interfaces. The author has designed, fabricated, and evaluated an LCP-based cochlear electrode array for an improved polymer-based cochlear implant. The thesis deals with 3 key topics: atraumatic deep insertion, tripolar stimulation, and long-term reliability. Atraumatic insertion of the intracochlear electrode and resulting preservation of residual hearing have become essential in state-of-the-art cochlear implantation. A novel tapered design of an LCP-based cochlear electrode array is presented to meet such goals. For high-density and pitch-recognizable cochlear implant, channel interaction should be avoided. Local tripolar stimulation using multi-layered electrode sites are shown to achieve highly focused electrical stimulation. This thesis addresses another vital issue in the polymer-based neural implants: the long-term reliability issue. After suggesting a new method of forming mechanical interlocking to improve polymer-metal adhesion, the author performs accelerating aging tests to verify the method's efficacy. The aforementioned three topics have been thoroughly examined through various in vitro and in vivo studies. Verification foresees the development of LCP-based cochlear electrode array for an atraumatic deep insertion, advanced stimulation, and long-term clinical implant.

This book focuses on different aspects of microplastic pollution, offering authors and readers the opportunity to share their knowledge, identify issues and propose solutions and actions to face this environmental threat. Although plastic pollution is a well-known global problem, the recent discovery of microplastics and nanoplastics in seas and oceans represents a very alarming new environmental challenge. The book offers comprehensive insights into the origins of the problem, its impact on marine environments, particularly the Mediterranean Sea and coasts, and the current research trends aimed at finding technical solutions to mitigate the phenomenon. It is primarily intended for scientists and decision makers from industry, international, national and local institutions and NGOs

This book discusses the mechanisms of electric conductivity in various ionic liquid systems (protic, aprotic as well as polymerized ionic liquids). It hence covers the electric properties of ionic liquids and their macromolecular counterpanes, some of the most promising materials for the development of safe electrolytes in modern electrochemical energy devices such as batteries, super-capacitors, fuel cells and dye-sensitized solar cells. Chapter contributions by the experts in the field discuss important findings obtained using broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and other complementary techniques. The book is an excellent introduction for readers who are new to the field of dielectric properties of ionic conductors, and a helpful guide for every scientist who wants to investigate the interplay between molecular structure and dynamics in ionic conductors by means of dielectric spectroscopy.

This book broadens the knowledge of tribology. This book is evolved out of current research trends on tribological performance of systems related to nano tribology, rheology, engines, polymer brushes, composite materials, erosive wear and lubrication. The book deals with enhancing the ideas on tribological properties, the different types of wear phenomenon and lubrication enhancement. Further, the tribological performance of systems, whether nano, micro or macro-scale, depends upon a large number of external parameters and important among them are temperature, contact pressure and relative speed. Thus, the book focus on the theoretical aspects to industrial applications of tribology.

This book describes the tremendous progress that has been made in the development of gas separation membranes based both on inorganic and polymeric materials. Materials discussed include polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs), metal organic frameworks (MOFs), carbon based materials, zeolites, as well as other materials, and mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) in which the above novel materials are incorporated. This broad survey of gas membranes covers material, theory, modeling, preparation, characterization (for example, by AFM, IR, XRD, ESR, Positron annihilation spectroscopy), tailoring of membranes, membrane module and system design, and applications. The book is concluded with some perspectives about the future direction of the field.

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 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. 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 approaches the analysis of forensic contact traces from a polymer science perspective. The development of characterization methods of new or unusual traces and the improvement of existing protocols is described. The book starts with a general introduction to polymers and the issues related to transfer, persistence and recovery of polymeric traces. The chapters present a distinctive feature of polymers, discussing how it can be measured, what the practical difficulties which can be encountered in the analysis, and how useful that information is for comparison or identification purposes. Practical tips for the realization of the forensic analyses are included.

This book discusses the tribological, rheological and optical properties of liquid-crystal nanomaterials as well as lubricant media. It also describes the formation of liquid-crystal materials and the application of cholesteric liquid-crystal compounds in technical friction units and in human and animal joints. Further, it shows the connection between the tribological and other physical properties of liquid-crystal cholesterol compounds and develops a lubricity conceptual model of cholesteric-nematic, liquid-crystalline nanostructures on the basis of physical and energetic interpretations. This general model is valid for all surfaces and friction pairs, including biopolymers, and could lead to applications of cholesteric liquid-crystalline nanomaterials in different friction units and tribosystems as well as in the treatment of joint diseases.

This volume describes the application of fluorescence spectroscopy in polymer research. The first chapters outline the basic principles of the conformational and dynamic behavior of polymers and review the problems of polymer self-assembly. Subsequent chapters introduce the theoretical principles of advanced fluorescence methods and typical examples of their application in polymer science. The book closes with several reviews of various fluorescence applications for studying specific aspects of polymer-solution behavior. It is a useful resource for polymer scientists and experts in fluorescence spectroscopy alike, facilitating their communication and cooperation.

Current pharmaceutical and clinical approaches to the treatment of disease suffer from the inherent limitations in the specialization of drugs introduced to physiological systems. The interface of clinical and material sciences has allowed for a broad spectrum of creative approaches with the potential to alleviate these shortcomings. However, the synergy of these disciplines also presents problems in which nascent technology lacks the necessary evaluation within its intended clinical environment. Given the growing potential for materials science to address a number of unanswered therapeutic needs, it remains even more pressing to validate emerging drug delivery technologies in actual clinical environments. Drug Delivery: Materials Design and Clinical Perspective addresses the core fundamentals of drug delivery using material science and engineering principles, and then applies this knowledge using prominent examples from both the scientific literature and clinical practice. Each chapter focuses on a specific drug delivery technology, such as controlled-release materials, thin-film materials, or smart materials. Within each chapter, an initial section on "Engineering Concepts" reviews the relevant fundamental principles that guide rational design. The following section on "Materials Design" discusses how the design process applies engineering concepts for use in physiological systems. A third section on "Implementation" discusses current approaches in the literature which have demonstrated effective drug delivery in controlled environments. Finally, each chapter contains several sections on "Clinical Applications" which describe the validity of materials approaches from a clinical perspective; these sections review the safety and efficacy of drug delivery systems for specific, compelling medical applications. The book thereby bridges materials science with clinical medicine, and provides the reader with a bench-to-bedside view of novel drug delivery systems. * Provides a comprehensive description of drug delivery systems from a materials perspective * Includes a wide-ranging discussion of clinical applications of drug delivery systems * Presents separate chapters on controlled release materials, thin film materials, self-microemulsifying materials, smart materials, etc. * Covers fundamental engineering principles, rational materials design, implementation testing, and clinical applications for each material type

An applications-oriented resource on step-growth polymerization

Step-growth polymers–polymer chains of any length that combine to form a longer polymer chain–comprise a large portion of the commodity plastics industry today, including polyesters, polyamides, and polyurethanes. Synthetic Methods in Step-Growth Polymers provides a concise source of information on synthetic techniques, purification, and characterization methods for step-growth polymers and also addresses future synthetic trends.

This applications-oriented handbook is a one-stop, at-your-fingertips source of information for researchers, technologists, and industrial managers. Encompassing a single reference of the classical and state-of-the-art synthetic techniques for preparing polymers via step-growth polymerization, Martin Rogers and Timothy Long’s text provides a historical background of step-growth polymerization, basic information regarding major classes of step-growth polymers, and experimental techniques such as purification, synthesis, and characterization. Chapters include:

• Polyurethanes and Polyureas
• Polyimides and Other High-Temperature Polymers
• Non-Traditional Step-Growth Polymerization–ADMET
• Non-Traditional Step-Growth Polymerization–Transition Metal Coupling
• Depolymerization and Recycling

All chapters are contributed by leading experts in their respective fields. Chemists, chemical engineers, and materials scientists, as well as industrial, academic, and government libraries, will find Synthetic Methods in Step-Growth Polymers to be an unparalleled resource for this category of polymerization.

The series Topics in Current Chemistry Collections presents critical reviews from the journal Topics in Current Chemistry organized in topical volumes. The scope of coverage is all areas of chemical science including the interfaces with related disciplines such as biology, medicine and materials science. The goal of each thematic volume is to give the non-specialist reader, whether in academia or industry, a comprehensive insight into an area where new research is emerging which is of interest to a larger scientific audience. Each review within the volume critically surveys one aspect of that topic and places it within the context of the volume as a whole. The most significant developments of the last 5 to 10 years are presented using selected examples to illustrate the principles discussed. The coverage is not intended to be an exhaustive summary of the field or include large quantities of data, but should rather be conceptual, concentrating on the methodological thinking that will allow the non-specialist reader to understand the information presented. Contributions also offer an outlook on potential future developments in the field. The chapter "Polymeric Nanoparticle-Mediated Gene Delivery for Lung Cancer Treatment" is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book summarizes recent progress in cellulose chemistry. The last 10 years have witnessed important developments, because sustainability is a major concern. Biodegradable cellulose derivatives, in particular esters and ethers, are employed on a large scale. The recent developments in cellulose chemistry include unconventional methods for the synthesis of derivatives, introduction of novel solvents, e.g. ionic liquids, novel approaches to regioselective derivatization of cellulose, preparation of nano-particles and nano-composites for specific applications. These new developments are discussed comprehensively. This book is aimed at researchers and professionals working on cellulose and its derivatives. It fills an important gap in teaching, because most organic chemistry textbooks concentrate on the relatively simple chemistry of mono- and disaccharides. The chemistry and, more importantly, the applications of cellulose are only concisely mentioned.

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.

This book presents a unified approach to fracture behavior of natural and synthetic fiber-reinforced polymer composites on the basis of fiber orientation, the addition of fillers, characterization, properties and applications. In addition, the book contains an extensive survey of recent improvements in the research and development of fracture analysis of FRP composites that are used to make higher fracture toughness composites in various applications.The FRP composites are an emerging area in polymer science with many structural applications. The rise in materials failure by fracture has forced scientists and researchers to develop new higher strength materials for obtaining higher fracture toughness. Therefore, further knowledge and insight into the different modes of fracture behavior of FRP composites are critical to expanding the range of their application.

Synergetics is the quantitative study of multicomponent systems that exhibit nonlinear dynamics and cooperativity. This book specifically considers basic models of the nonlinear dynamics of molecular systems and discusses relevant applications in biological physics and the polymer sciences.
Emphasis is placed on specific solutions to the dynamical equations that correspond to the coherent formation of spatial-temporal structures, such as solitons, kinks and breathers, in particular. The emergence of these patterns in molecular structures provides a variety of information on their structural properties and plays a significant part in energy transfer processes, topological defects, dislocations, and related structure transitions.
Real media, in which solitons take the form of solitary waves, are also considered. In this context, the formation of nonlinear waves in a continuous medium described by nonlinear equations is associated with spontaneous breaking of the local symmetry of the homogeneous system, which produces a range of interesting phenomena.
A particular feature of this text is its combination of analytic and computational strategies to tackle difficult nonlinear problems at the molecular level of matter.

Approaching the material from a chemistry and engineering perspective, High Performance Polymers presents the most reliable and current data available about state-of-the-art polymerization, fabrication, and application methods of high performance industrial polymers.

Chapters are arranged according to the chemical constitution of the individual classes, beginning with main chain carbon-carbon polymers and leading to ether-containing, sulfur-containing, and so on. Each chapter follows an easily readable template, provides a brief overview and history of the polymer, and continues on to such sub-topics as monomers; polymerization and fabrication; properties; fabrication methods; special additives; applications; suppliers and commercial grades; safety; and environmental impact and recycling.

High Performance Polymers brings a wealth of up-to-date, high performance polymer data to you library, in a format that allows for either a fast fact-check or more detailed study. In this new edition the data has been fully updated to reflect all developments since 2008, particularly in the topics of monomers, synthesis of polymers, special polymer types, and fields of application.
Presents the state-of-the-art polymerization, fabrication and application methods of high performance industrial polymers.
Provides fundamental information for practicing engineers working in industries that develop advanced applications (including electronics, automotive and medical)
Discusses environmental impact and recycling of polymers.

This book presents a comprehensive study on microextrusion-based 3D bioprinting technologies for bioinks with various crosslinking mechanisms, chiefly focusing on the bioprinting process and bioink properties to provide readers with a better understanding of this state-of-the-art technology. Further, it summarizes a number of general criteria and research routes for microextrusion-based 3D bioprinting using three experimental studies based on shear-thinning, thermo-sensitive and non-viscous hydrogel bioinks. The book also presents sample applications in the areas of stem cells and cell matrix interaction. The book highlights pioneering results in the development of bioprinting technologies and bioinks, which were published in high-quality journals such as Advanced Materials, Biofabrication and ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering. These include an in-situ crosslinking strategy that overcomes the viscosity limits for bioinks, which is virtually impossible using conventional strategies, and can be generalized for other bioink formulations.

Lianwei Li's Ph.D. thesis solves a long-standing problem in polymer physics: how does a hyperbranched chain pass through a cylindrical pore smaller than its size under an elongational flow field? The question was asked by the Nobel Laureate, the late Professor de Gennes in the 70s but has never been seriously addressed through real experiments. This thesis outlines how Lianwei Li developed a novel polymerization strategy using a seesaw-type macromonomer to prepare a set of "defect-free" hyperbranched chagins with different overall molar masses and controllable uniform subchain lengths. The author then unearthed how the critical (minimum) flow rate at which a hyperbranched chain can pass through the pore, is dependent on the overall molar mass and the subchain length. The experimental results give a unified description of polymer chains with different topologies passing through a small cylindrical pore, which enables us to separate chains by their topologies instead of their sizes in ultrafiltration. In addition, this research also reveals how the chain structure of amphiphilic hyperbranched block and graft copolymers affect their solution properties, including the establishments of several classic scaling laws that relate the chain size and the intrinsic viscosity to the overall molar mass and the subchain length, respectively. This work has led to numerous publications in high-impact peer-reviewed journals.

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 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.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

From fabrication to testing and modeling this monograph covers all aspects on the materials class of magneto active polymers. The focus is on computational modeling of manufacturing processes and material parameters. As other smart materials, these elastomers have the ability to change electrical and mechanical properties upon application of magnetic fields. This allows for novel applications ranging from biomedical engineering to mechatronics.