The Physics of Polymers presents the elements of this important segment of material science, focusing on concepts above experimental techniques and theoretical methods. Written for graduate students of physics, material science and chemical engineering and for researchers working with polymers in academia and industry, the book introduces and discusses the basic phenomena which lead to the peculiar physical properties of polymeric systems. The revised and expanded Third Edition includes a new chapter dealing with conjugated polymers, explaining the physical basis of the characteristic electro-optic response, and the spectacular electrical conduction properties of conjugated polymers created by doping.

In the last 10 years there have been major advances in fundamental understanding and applications and a vast portfolio of new polymer structures with unique and tailored properties was developed. Work moved from a chemical repeat unit structure to one more based on structural control, new polymerization methodologies, properties, processing, and applications. The 4th Edition takes this into account and will be completely rewritten and reorganized, focusing on spin coating, spray coating, blade/slot die coating, layer-by-layer assembly, and fiber spinning methods; property characterizations of redox, interfacial, electrical, and optical phenomena; and commercial applications.

This book examines the physics, chemistry, and structure-property relationships of nanomaterials, as well as nanoscale electronics and photonics devices. It also discusses metal and semiconductor clusters, composites, thin films, and molecular engineering.

This book contains the majority of the papers presented at the NATO Ad vanced Research Workshop (ARW) held in Burlington, Vermont, USA on October 12-15, 1992. This ARW was the first of its kind to address the subject of intrinsically conducting polymers with an emphasis on processing and technological applications. The NATO ARW format was followed in that the subjects addressed here were limited in number but discussed in detail with the attendance being limited to a small number of selected scientists. The ARW brought together lecturers who are leaders in their respective fields from a wide range of NATO and non-NATO countries (a total of 11 countries) with the support of the NATO Scientific Affairs Division and some support from Champlain Cable Corporation. The total number of par ticipants was 33 and the number of presentations was 24. The speakers were chosen based on the topics selected for this workshop and repre sented industry, universities and government laboratories. The field of conducting polymers has grown rapidly during the past few years with important developments in materials processing and fabrica tion that brought about active research programs focusing on the use of these polymers as "smart" materials in technological applications and devices in academic and industrial research laboratories.

With the increasing demand for smaller, faster, and more highly integrated optical and electronic devices, as well as extremely sensitive detectors for biomedical and environmental applications, a field called nano-optics or nano-photonics/electronics is emerging – studying the many promising optical properties of nanostructures. Like nanotechnology itself, it is a rapidly evolving and changing field – but because of strong research activity in optical communication and related devices, combined with the intensive work on nanotechnology, nano-optics is shaping up fast to be a field with a promising future. This book serves as a one-stop review of modern nano-optical/photonic and nano-electronic techniques, applications, and developments. - Provides overview of the field of Nano-optics/photonics and electronics, detailing practical examples of photonic technology in a wide range of applications - Discusses photonic systems and devices with mathematical rigor precise enough for design purposes - A one-stop review of modern nano-optical/photonic and nano-electronic techniques, applications, and developments

Self-healing is a well-known phenomenon in nature: a broken bone merges after some time and if skin is damaged, the wound will stop bleeding and heals again. This concept can be mimicked in order to create polymeric materials with the ability to regenerate after they have suffered degradation or wear. Already realized applications are used in aerospace engineering, and current research in this fascinating field shows how different self-healing mechanisms proven successful by nature can be adapted to produce even more versatile materials. The book combines the knowledge of an international panel of experts in the field and provides the reader with chemical and physical concepts for self-healing polymers, including aspects of biomimetic processes of healing in nature. It shows how to design self-healing polymers and explains the dynamics in these systems. Different self-healing concepts such as encapsulated systems and supramolecular systems are detailed. Chapters on analysis and friction detection in self-healing polymers and on applications round off the book.