The articles in this book summarize the work presented at the final workshop of the COST (European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific and Technical Research) Action on Molecular Materials and Functional Polymers for Advanced Devices, which was held in June 2000 in Patras, Greece. The collection gives an excellent overview of the state-of-the-art in this field and the progress made by the coordinated research projects. The results range over the synthesis, physical properties, and applications of molecular materials (nanotubes, fullerenes, phthalocyanines), inorganic and inorganic-organic hybrid materials, and functional polymers (electronic conduction, photoluminiscence, optical storage, photovoltaic devices).

Reactive and functional polymers are manufactured with the aim of improving the performance of unmodified polymers or providing functionality for different applications. These polymers are created mainly through chemical reactions, but there are other important modifications that can be carried out by physical alterations in order to obtain reactive and functional polymers. This volume presents a comprehensive analysis of these reactive and functional polymers. Reactive and Functional Polymers Volume Three considers advanced polymeric materials such as electroactive polymers, multi-responsive polymers, shape memory polymers, stimuli responsive polymers, and active and intelligent polymers as topics for analysis. World renowned researchers from Argentina, Austria, China, Egypt, France, India, Iran, Japan, Pakistan, Romania and Spain have participated in this book. With its comprehensive scope and up-to-date coverage of issues and trends in Reactive and Functional Polymers, this is an outstanding book for students, professors, researchers and industrialists working in the field of polymers and plastic materials.

This book is based on the Special Issue of the journal Molecules on “Smart and Functional Polymers”. The collected research and review articles focus on the synthesis and characterization of advanced functional polymers, polymers with specific structures and performances, current improvements in advanced polymer-based materials for various applications, and the opportunities and challenges in the future. The topics cover the emerging synthesis and characterization technology of smart polymers, core−shell structure polymers, stimuli-responsive polymers, anhydrous electrorheological materials fabricated from conducting polymers, reversible polymerization systems, and biomedical polymers for drug delivery and disease theranostics. In summary, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the latest synthesis approaches, representative structures and performances, and various applications of smart and functional polymers. It will serve as a useful reference for all researchers and readers interested in polymer sciences and technologies.

This new book covers the synthetic as well application aspects of functional polymers. It highlights modern trends in the field and showcases the recent characterization techniques that are being employed in the field of polymer science. The chapters are written by top-notch scientists who are internationally recognized in the field. The chapters will highlight the modern trend in the field.