This book overviews the basics of polymer science and characterization, then goes on to describe specific analytical techniques and applications. In the first part, the author provides a tutorial-style presentation about polymer chemistry and physics, using terms and definitions as approved by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The second part has more of a manual or handbook format, discussing specific analytical and characterization techniques - for example spectroscopy methods, light scattering, NMR, and thermal analysis. Part 1 deals with polymers as substance, a material, and Part 2 deals with details of individual - mainly physical - techniques and their background and experimental effort. While the focus is on synthetic polymers, there are a selected examples from natural / biopolymers.
