J. Chem. Educ. 1974.51:A550. Downloaded from pubs.acs.org by 146.185.200.59 on 01/24/19. For personal use only.
book reviews as "G. Meyerhoff." Students will not be as patient, I suspect. This chapter is somewhat more up-to-date, very much easier to read, but not nearly as authoritative as the corresponding sections of Flory's "Principles of Polymer Chemistry" or Morawetz's "Macromolecules in Solution." The final chapter (145 pages), "States of Macromolecular Aggregation,'' treats polymer dilute solutions (mostly viscometry), gels, and the glassy and crystalline solidstate. The treatment is necessarily quite superficial in view of the broad coverage, but is adequate t o indicate the relation between bulk properties such as toughness, elasticity, etc., and polymer characteristics such as molecular weight, chain stiffness, crystallinity, etc. If this aspect of polymer chemistry is to be emphasized, as it should for engineering or material science students, Meares' "Polymers: Structure and Bulk Properties" would be a good supplement a t a slightly higher level. A comprehensive, 21-page index concludes the hook. "Polymer Chemistry" is a most welcome addition to non-specialist polymer literature. If it had specific references (perhaps in a second printing?) and if the price was not so high, I would adopt it as the text for a senior survey course in polymer science. As it is, I will request it for l i h r a q reserve and urge others to consider doing so too. Walter Dennhaussr SUNY at Butfalo Butfalo. New York. 14214
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Polymers: Chemistry and Physics of Modern Materials J. M . G. Cowie, University of Stirling. Intert Educational Publishers, 257 Park Ave., S., New York, 10010,1973. xi 298 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 X 23.5 em. $11.75.
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The lack of formal undergraduate instruction in polymer science in mast chemistry departments-despite the scientific fascination and great technical importance of the suhject-is well known. One reason, perhaps, why this may have been so in the past has been the lack of a suitable text. That excuse no longer exists: Cowie's bwk is excellent for an intraductory course based on organic and physical chemistry prerequisites. The plan of the book is to discuss the preparation, characterization, and utilization of synthetic polymeric materials. The first chapter introduces the reader in a broad and qualitative manner to all these aspects, to whet the appetite as it were. Then follow chapters an step-growth polymerization, free-radical addition polymerization, ionic polymerization, copolymerization, and polymer stereochemistry, the last serving to intrqduce heterogeneous polymerization. Here, as throughout the entire hook, there is a deliberate, carefully considered, and well executed lack of indepth treatment. Thus the entire "preparation" section is done-and done very well-in about 100 pages. Nothing really
essential has been left out and since each chapter of the hook ends with a list of general readings (usually chapters in recent monographs or more specialized texts) and specific references to journal articles, the student (or instructor!) who wants or needs mare details is well guided in his search. The next three chapters (the characterization section) are entitled "Polymers in Solution," "Polymer CharacterizationMolar Masses," and "Polymer Characterization-Chain Dimensions and Structure." The material (solution thermodynamics and hydrodynamics, light scattering, random-coil statistics) is intrinsically more difficult, and certainly much less familiar to students, than that of the first part of the teat. Cowie's approach is to present essential working equations (Flory-Huggins expression for AG,,.; definition of the Rayleigh ratio; Dehye's particle scattering factor P(0) for random coils; the relation between mean-square radius of gyration and mean-square end-to-end distance far random coils, etc.) either as hare facts or with a very brief explanation aimed a t making them physically plausible. Depending on the interests (e.g., molecular biologists or physical chemists) and abilities of the class, one might want to flesh out Cowie's treatment of some of this material. But for a broad survey course or for students (engineers or material scientists) more interested in bulk properties, these chapters read well and (Continued on page A5521
book reviews serve the purpose-to demonstrate the variety of techniques available to characterize polymers and the information provided by each method. The coverage is broad and contemporary: Gel permeation chromatography, DTA, vapor pressure and automatic membrane osmometry, nmr characterization of tacticity, for example, are included. The last third of the text is devoted to hulk properties with chapters entitled "The Crystalline State," "The Amorphous State," "Mechanical Properties," "The Elastomeric State." and finally an excellent summarizing chapter, "StructureProperty Relations." Again, the background and interests of the students will dictate the depth of treatment: Traditional chemistry majors find most of the material entirely new and need introductory supplemental material. The general reading references in these chapters are usually a t too advanced a level and I have found myself doing a lot of handwaving here, but that need not always be a bad thing. A unifying theme throughout this section is the dependence of the polymer's physical properties on the nature of the manamer(s). Chain stiffness and chain regularity (packing) are related to melting points, T,,viscoelastic behavior, etc. It has been my experience that students need not know-or even be exposed to-the details of e.g., the statistical theory of rubber elasticity or free-volume theories of viscoelastic response in order to gain meaning-
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ful, qualitative insights into the relation of polymer structure and macroscopic behavior. Cowie's treatment is excellent in this respect. The book is attractive: the print is easy an the eyes, the figures are sharp and clear, and Cowie's style is concise and smooth. Numerous tables provide a great deal of comparative quantitative information. SI units are used consistently. There are a few minor errors (the captions of Figs. 13.8 and 13.9 are reversed: the contractile force of a random coil is due to entropieolly less favored conformations (p. 175)) but Ifound no substantive errors. Compared to Cowie's book, Billmeyer's "Textbook of Polymer Science" and Rodriquez's "Principles of Polymer Systems" are both so much broader in scope, and consequently so lacking in detail, that students find them more useful as hibliograhies than texts. Vollmert's "Polymer Chemistry," more detailed than Cowie in some aspects (polymerization and characterization), suffers from a lack of references and its steep price. Flory's "Principles of Polymer Chemistry," still the authoritative standard against which all others are judged, is more restricted in scope than Cowie, now out-dated in some aspects, and rugged going for undergraduates in many places. Cowie (preface) hoped "that this book will provide a reasonably broad coverage at the undergraduate level . . thereby providing a foundation on which a graduate may subsequent-
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ly build." His hope has been fully realized. I plan to adapt his book as the text in my course and I strongly recommend it to you. Walter Dannhauser State University ot New York a t Buffalo Buffalo, New York 14214
Free-Radical Chemistry
D. C. Nonhebel, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and J C. Walton, University of St. Andrews. Cambridge University Press, New York, 10022, 1974. xv 572 pp. Figs. and tables. 15.5 x 23.5 em. $35
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Free radicals are the most ubiquitous species among reactive intermediates in organic chemistry, since they can readily participate in reactions occurring in the gaseous, liquid, or solid states. Furthermore, homolysis can be induced thermally as well as by various types of radiation, and the possibility oi radical chain reactions allows for a variety of rapid chemical processes t o occur. Obviously, all facets oi iree radicals are difficult to encompass in one book, and the problem lies in haw to organize the varied material for presentation. "Free-Radical Chemistry," by Nonhebel and Walton is primarily concerned with the structure of iree radicals and the mechanism of iree-radical reactions. In(Continued on page A.5541
