Principles of Polymers

Book excerpt: This book has been written in a concise manner to include all fundamental aspects of polymer science including recent inventions in polymerisation's and polymers. It covers atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP), reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT), nitroxide-mediated polymerisation (NMP), click chemistry as well as stereopolymerisation, ring opening metathesis polymerisation (ROMP), group transfer polymerisation (GTP), plasma polymerisation etc. in addition to the usual polymerisation mechanisms such as radical, ionic and step polymerisations. It also includes new developments of polymer science which are considered as hot topics of functional polymers like smart or intelligent polymers, light emitting polymers, conducting polymers, magnetic polymers, optically active and/or chiral polymers, liquid crystalline polymers, self-healing polymers, polymers for biomedical applications, dendrimers and/or dendritic polymers and polymer nanocomposites etc.