Polymer Physics Disentangled

Abstract Polymers have transformed every aspect of our life—from disposable plastic bags and bottles, soft contact lenses and band-aids, to car tires and aerospace composites. To satisfy these demands, the chemical industry produces over 400 million tons of polymers each year. Moreover, all of us are made of biopolymers encoded in genes via DNA—a long-chain, double-helical biological macromolecule. This book presents a comprehensive overview of the core concepts of polymer physics. Intended for undergraduate and graduate students with a basic knowledge of calculus, physics and chemistry, it can also be used as a reference book by scientists and engineers working in fields of materials science and soft matter. In addition to the classical topics of polymer science such as individual chain properties, polymer solutions and melts, networks and gels, polymer viscoelasticity and dynamics, the book discusses topics related to polymer brushes and stars, solutions and gels of charged polymers and self-assembly and microphase separation of block copolymers. The book is written in a self-contained manner; all the supporting information is covered in text boxes and in footnotes accompanying the text. The material discussion is illustrated by examples with solutions which are designed to improve problem-solving skills. This should enable readers to tackle advanced topics of modern polymer science that go beyond the scope of the book. The presented materials are augmented by over 300 figures illuminating introduced concepts and showing examples from the current literature. Each chapter concludes with a problem set, totaling over 130 questions.