Preface
Downloaded by 209.6.144.157 on May 20, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: May 5, 1996 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1996-0624.pr001
THE USE OF POLYMERS IS WIDESPREAD in modern society,
and their applications continue to grow. Many of the important advances in polymeric material involve imparting desirable properties through the control of the polymer structure. Polymer structure is determined and controlled by polymer synthesis. Step-growth polymerization represents one of the two major mechanisms by which polymers are synthesized. The other is chain-growth polymerization. Polymers prepared by stepgrowth polymerization, often referred to as step-growth polymers, represent some of the most important commercial polymer systems, including nylon, polyesters, and polycarbonates. Many high-technology applications in the areas of aviation, electronics, medicine, and apparel rely on step-growth polymers as key constituents. Hence, fundamental and applied research on step-growth polymers and their synthesis continues to be very active worldwide in both academic and industrial environments. In recent years much of the focus in step-growth polymers has been in the area of high-performance materials, in which tailoring polymer structure to give a specific set of properties is paramount. This research has led to many advances in synthetic methodology, including both new polymer-forming reactions as well as enhancement of established methods of polymerization. Major areas of research activity include transitionmetal-catalyzed coupling, dendritic and hyperbranched polymers, poly(aryl ether)s, and high-temperature polymers, including polyimides. This book is organized by sections that include transition-metalcatalyzed polymerizations, dendritic and hyperbranched systems, poly(aryl ether)s, polyimides and high-temperature polymers, and general stepgrowth topics. With the exception of the section on high-temperature polymers, each section contains a chapter surveying important advances in that subject area during the past five years. In addition to providing a very useful review of the field as a whole, these overview chapters should provide the reader some context for understanding how the individual research papers impact the field. Acknowledgments
We thank the authors and their support staffs for their efforts in preparing their manuscripts and the referees for reviewing each chapter. Our ix Hedrick and Labadie; Step-Growth Polymers for High-Performance Materials ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1996.
special thanks also go to Michelle Althuis and the production staff of ACS Books for their efforts in assembling this volume. JAMES L. HEDRICK
IBM Almaden Research Center 650 Harry Road San Jose, CA 95120-6099 JEFF W. LABADIE
Downloaded by 209.6.144.157 on May 20, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: May 5, 1996 | doi: 10.1021/bk-1996-0624.pr001
Argonaut Technologies, Inc. 887 Industrial Road San Carlos, CA 94070-3305 December 6, 1995
x Hedrick and Labadie; Step-Growth Polymers for High-Performance Materials ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1996.
