Ionomers, that is polymers containing a low concentration of charged units along the chain, have been the subject of increasing interest during the past twenty years. The presence of ionic groups in the poly mer changes some of its properties dramatically. Increases in the modu lus and the viscosity of several orders of magnitude have been observed, and changes in the glass transition of hundreds of degrees are possible. In addition, diffusion coefficients can be modified drastically. These changes are due primarily to the presence of reversible ionic cross links in these materials. Because of the low dielectric constant of most organic polymers, the ions or ionic dipoles tend to aggregate ; this aggregation process, however, is limited, because the ionic groups are covalently bonded to the organic chain. Host of the fundamental research done on these materials has been devoted to a determination of the extent of association, the structure of the aggregates, the limi ting factors, and the correlations between molecular and supermolecular structure and the resul ting properties.

Ion-Containing Polymers: Physical Properties and Structure is Volume 2 of the series Polymer Physics. This book aims to fill in the gap in literature regarding the physical aspects of ion-containing polymers. A total of five chapters comprise this book. The Introduction (Chapter 1) generally deals with the application of ion-containing polymers, general classification, and the available works regarding the subject. Chapter 2 establishes the concepts of supermolecular structure and glass transitions in terms of the effects of ionic forces in polymers. These chapters provide the context in the discussion of viscoelastic properties of homopolymers and copolymers in Chapters 3 and 4. Finally, Chapter 5 tackles the configuration-dependent properties of ion-containing polymers. This volume will be of particular help to students in the field of physics and chemistry.

Research on applications of polymers for biomedical applications has increased dramatically to find improved medical plastics for this rapidly evolving field. This book brings together various aspects of recent research and developments within academia and industry related to polymers for biomedical applications.