Institute of Materials Science
University of Connecticut
Storrs
Progress in materials science depends increasingly on collaboration between those skilled in the synthesis of new molecules and others possessing special measurement or evaluation techniques. A good example, among organic materials, is the family of ladder polymers. They are difficult to synthesize and characterize but possess extended electronic conjugation. Initially, they were prepared as polymers with high-temperature stability, but certain ladder polymers were discovered to show nonlinear optical activity and electrical conductivity.
L. Yu, M. Chen, L.R. Dalton, "Ladder polymers: recent developments in syntheses, characterization, and potential applications as electronic and optical materials," Chemistry of Materials, 2, 649-59, November/December 1990. (University of Southern California, Los Angeles)
Polyethylene is known for its many commercial uses, but it also has a special role in polymer physics. Researchers studied single crystals grown from solution to see what their growth reveals about polymer morphology. With the ...
