Introduction to Polymer Chemistry

Citation

Carraher, C. E., Jr. (2017). Introduction to Polymer Chemistry (4th ed.). CRC Press.

Chapter Summary

The fourth edition runs to about 560 pages in 16 chapters, printed in colour, followed by a closing section titled "Structures of Common Polymers". The publisher describes a well-rounded presentation of natural, synthetic, inorganic and organic polymers that builds on foundational undergraduate courses and is designed to meet the American Chemical Society Committee on Professional Training's requirement for macromolecular content in approved chemistry degrees. According to the publisher, the organic-intensive chapters come first and the physical aspects later; the listed features include exercises, learning summaries, glossaries and suggestions for further reading, and brief case studies set developments in their historical and societal context. L. W. Fine's review in CHOICE (September 2017) describes the order as nomenclature and morphology first, then a progression through natural and synthetic polymers, with methods, mechanisms and property tests throughout.

Chapter 1: Introduction to Polymers

The opening chapter introduces the subject; Fine's review places nomenclature among the first topics.

Chapters 2–3: Polymer Structure (Morphology); Molecular Weight of Polymers

Two chapters on describing polymers before making them: their structure and morphology, and the molecular weight of polymer chains.

Chapter 4: Naturally Occurring Polymers

Natural macromolecules come before any synthetic method, an unusual position that reflects the book's aim of showing that the same principles apply to every polymer group. The publisher's description names biomacromolecules, bio-based materials and natural composites among the book's subjects.

Chapters 5–8: Step Reaction Polymerization (Polycondensation Reactions); Ionic Chain-Reaction and Complex Coordination Polymerization (Addition Polymerization); Free Radical Chain Polymerization (Addition Polymerization); Copolymerization

The core of synthetic polymer chemistry: step-growth polymerization, ionic and coordination chain-growth polymerization, free-radical chain polymerization and copolymerization. Ionic and coordination methods appear before free-radical polymerization in this edition's order.

Chapters 9–10: Organometallic and Metalloid Polymers; Inorganic Polymers

Two chapters on polymers whose backbones or side groups contain metals, metalloids or other inorganic elements, a field in which the author has worked extensively; his publisher biography credits his research with more than 75 new families of polymers.

Chapter 11: Reactions of Polymers

Chemical reactions carried out on existing polymers.

Chapters 12–13: Testing and Spectrometric Characterization of Polymers; Rheology and Physical Tests

The analytical and physical side of the subject: spectrometric and other tests used to characterise polymers, then flow behaviour and physical testing. The publisher's description lists techniques for characterization and analysis, energy absorption and thermal conductivity, and physical and optical properties among the book's topics.

Chapters 14–16: Additives; Synthesis of Reactants and Intermediates for Polymers; Polymer Technology

The closing chapters turn to practice: the additives compounded into polymers, the synthesis of the monomers and intermediates from which polymers are made, and polymer technology. The publisher names elastomers, adhesives, coatings, fibres, plastics, blends, caulks, composites and ceramics among the materials covered, and adds that this edition addresses environmental concerns, including biodegradable polymers, bio-based materials and less expensive feedstocks.

Key Concepts

Chapters 1–4: Describing polymers

• Morphology: the arrangement of polymer chains in the solid, from ordered crystalline regions to disordered amorphous ones.
• Molecular weight distribution: polymers contain chains of many lengths, so molecular weight is expressed as averages.
• Natural polymers: macromolecules such as those in living systems, treated with the same principles as synthetic ones.

Chapters 5–8: Making polymers

• Step-growth (condensation) polymerization: chains built by stepwise reaction between functional groups, often releasing a small molecule.
• Chain-growth (addition) polymerization: chains built by successive addition of monomer to an active centre, which may be ionic, coordination-based or a free radical.
• Copolymerization: polymerization of two or more monomers together to combine their properties.

Chapters 9–11: Inorganic polymers and polymer reactions

• Organometallic and inorganic polymers: macromolecules containing metals or other inorganic elements in the chain or side groups.
• Reactions of polymers: chemical modification of an existing polymer.

Chapters 12–16: Properties and practice

• Rheology: the study of how polymers flow and deform.
• Additives: substances blended into polymers to modify their processing or properties.
• Monomer synthesis: the industrial routes to the starting materials for polymers.

Critical Analysis

Strengths

• Synthesis-centred and chemically detailed. Four chapters on polymerization mechanisms, plus chapters on polymer reactions and on the synthesis of monomers, give the book a strong chemical core; CHOICE's reviewer found its methods and mechanisms "always interesting".
• Unusually broad range of polymers. Natural, organometallic and inorganic polymers each receive their own chapters, which few introductory polymer texts provide.
• Learning support. The publisher lists updated exercises, learning summaries, glossaries, further reading and case studies among the book's features.
• Positive review. The CHOICE review of this edition rated it "Essential" for lower-division undergraduates and above, faculty and professionals, praising its practical applications, topical diversity and currency.

Limitations

• Physical polymer science is compressed. Characterisation, rheology and physical testing take two chapters near the end; the contents have no separate chapters on polymer solutions, viscoelasticity or the mechanical behaviour of polymer solids, which a materials-oriented course will want.
• Organic chemistry assumed. With the organic-intensive chapters placed first, readers without a course in organic chemistry will find the early mechanistic chapters demanding.
• Wide scope. Covering natural, synthetic, inorganic and organometallic polymers as well as technology in about 560 pages means some topics will be treated briefly, and instructors will need to select.

Where It Fits in the Course

Within this course list Carraher is the polymer-chemistry text. Harry Allcock's Introduction to Materials Chemistry is a broad, qualitative overview of materials that devotes two chapters to polymers among many other classes; it is the better starting point for students who want the wider materials picture, with Carraher as the deeper treatment of polymer synthesis. Robert Young and Peter Lovell's Introduction to Polymers is organised around synthesis, characterisation, morphology and the physical and mechanical properties of polymers as solids; it complements Carraher's chemical emphasis and is the natural companion or follow-on for the physical side.

Anthony West's Solid State Chemistry and its Applications and Peter Müller's Crystal Structure Refinement deal with inorganic solids and crystal structure determination; they overlap with Carraher only at the edges (inorganic polymers and ceramics) and are not needed for a polymer course.

How to Use This Book

The publisher pitches the book at undergraduates who have completed foundational chemistry courses, and CHOICE recommends it from lower-division undergraduates to professionals. General chemistry and a first course in organic chemistry are the realistic preparation, since the mechanistic chapters come early.

A practical plan for a one-semester polymer chemistry course:

• Core: Chapters 1–3 (introduction, structure and morphology, molecular weight), then Chapters 5–8 on polymerization. These are the chapters most courses build around.
• Characterisation and properties: Chapters 12–13; pair them with Young and Lovell if the course has a materials emphasis.
• By interest: Chapter 4 for biological and natural materials; Chapters 9–10 for inorganic and organometallic polymers; Chapter 11 on reactions of polymers; Chapters 14–16 for additives, monomer synthesis and industrial practice.

Use the learning summaries and glossaries to review before attempting the exercises, and read the case studies for the historical and societal context the publisher highlights. As its title indicates, the closing "Structures of Common Polymers" section is the place to look up the structures of polymers named in the chapters.