This book provides a comprehensive account of the modern theory for the dynamical properties of polymer solutions. The theory has undergone dramatic evolution over the last two decades due to the introduction of new methods and concepts that have extended the frontier of theory from dilute solutions in which polymers move independently to concentrated solutions where many polymers converge. Among the properties examined are viscoelasticity, diffusion, dynamic light scattering, and electric birefringence. Nonlinear viscoelasticity is discussed in detail on the basis of molecular dynamical models. The book bridges the gap between classical theory and new developments, creating a consistent picture of polymer solution dynamics over the entire concentration range.

Remarkable progress has been made in the last two decades in the study of concentrated polymer solutions leading to many new concepts, theories, and techniques in the field of polymer science. Any description of the theory of polymer solutions is now insufficient unless both concentrated and dilute solutions are given equal attention. This book reviews recent developments in the study of dilute and concentrated polymer solutions, emphasizing mainly the typical equilibrium and steady-state dynamic properties of linear homopolymers. The author strives to clarify the gap which still remains open between current theories and well-documented experimental results, thereby stimulating further efforts toward a more accurate understanding of polymer solutions.The book contains a collection of typical experimental data and their comparison with current theories, molecular or phenomenological, a summary of recent advances in the physics of concentrated polymer solutions and melts, and an elementary account of the renormalization group theory as applied to dilute solutions. Polymer Solutions should prove invaluable as a reference work for graduate students and specialists in this field.

This book is a concise and clearly written introduction to the modern theory of polymer physics. The book describes basic concepts and methods of investigating the statistical properties of the assembly of chain-like molecules. The topics discussed include scaling theory, concentration fluctuation, gels, and reptation. Both graduate students and researchers in physics, physical chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science will find this an extremely useful textbook and reference work.

Schäfer gives a concise overview of the static equilibrium properties of polymer solutions. In the first part diagrammatic perturbation theory is derived from scratch. The second part illustrates the basic ideas of the renormalization group (RG). The crucial role of dilation invariance is stressed. The more efficient method of dimensional regularization and minimal subtractions is worked out in part three. The fourth part contains a unified evaluation of the theory to the one loop level. All the important experimental quantities are discussed in detail, and the results are compared extensively to experiment. Empirical methods of data analysis are critically discussed. The final (fifth) part is devoted to extensions of theory. The first three parts of this book may serve as the basis of a course. Parts four and five are hoped to be useful for detailed quantitative evaluations of experiments.

This book is mainly concerned with building a narrow but secure ladder which polymer chemists or engineers can climb from the primary level to an advanced level without great difficulty (but by no means easily, either). This book describes some fundamentally important topics, carefully chosen, covering subjects from thermodynamics to molecular weight and its distribution effects. For help in self-education the book adopts a "Questions and Answers" format. The mathematical derivation of each equation is shown in detail. For further reading, some original references are also given. Numerous physical properties of polymer solutions are known to be significantly different from those of low molecular weight solutions. The most probable explanation of this obvious discrepancy is the large molar volume ratio of solute to solvent together with the large number of consecutive segments that constitute each single molecule of the polymer chains present as solute. Thorough understanding of the physical chemistry of polymer solutions requires some prior mathematical background in its students. In the original literature, detailed mathematical derivations of the equations are universally omitted for the sake of space-saving and simplicity. In textbooks of polymer science only extremely rough schemes of the theories and then the final equations are shown. As a consequence, the student cannot learn, unaided, the details of the theory in which he or she is interested from the existing textbooks; however, without a full understanding of the theory, one cannot analyze actual experimental data to obtain more basic and realistic physical quantities. In particular, if one intends to apply the theories in industry, accurate understanding and ability to modify the theory are essential.

Presents the methods used for characterization of polymers. In addition to theory and basic principles, the instrumentation and apparatus necessary for methods used to study the kinetic and thermodynamic interactions of a polymer with its environment are covered in detail. Some of the methods examined include polymer separations and characterization by size exclusion and high performance chromatography, inverse gas chromatography, osmometry, viscometry, ultracentrifugation, light scattering and spectroscopy.