Searching For Polymers

A polymer is broadly defined as a substance made up of many linked atoms or smaller molecules. Unlike small molecules, polymer properties can vary considerably depending on the method of synthesis. measurement technique. and experimental conditions. As such, knowing additional informatio n about the polymer of interest can be helpful when searching for specific information. This chapter outlines some of this additional information to aid in searching primary litera ture. and also includes references to secondary compendia where possible. Section 8.2 covers polymer structure nomenclature and searching: a lthough progress is being made towards a more uniform naming system. as with other areas of chemistry. there are colloquial as well as systematic name in use currently and particularly in older literature. Section 8.3 briefly describes common methods of polymer synthesis, as different synthetic methods applied to the same monomer can produce polymers with significantly different properties. Methods fo r characterization of polymer structure are discussed in Section 8.4, as different methods may yield different values for a property. Sections 8.5 and 8.6 describe some of the most common thennophysical and