POLYMER DEGRADATION AND STABILITY

聚合物降解与稳定涉及降解反应及其控制，这是现代聚合物技术的许多不同方面的从业者关注的主要问题。降解反应发生在加工过程中，当聚合物受到热、氧和机械应力时，以及在材料的使用寿命中，当氧和阳光是最重要的降解介质时。在更特殊的应用中，降解可能受到高能辐射、臭氧、大气污染物、机械应力、生物作用、水解和许多其他影响。如果要使聚合物的技术和应用继续向前发展，就必须了解这些反应的机理和稳定过程。因此，这类调查报告是本杂志的一项主要职能。然而，聚合物技术也有了新的发展，降解过程在其中找到了积极的应用。例如,现在可光降解的塑料,聚合物产品的回收利用将变得越来越重要,退化和燃烧研究参与的定义与高分子材料相关的火灾隐患和微电子行业是极其依赖于聚合物降解生产的电路。聚合物的性能也可以通过固化和接枝等工艺得到改善，这些工艺的化学性质可能与在其他条件下导致物理性能恶化的工艺密切相关。各种各样的辐射被用来启动许多这些现代的技术过程，使聚合物光化学得到了一个新的突出，并在这本杂志中找到了一个主要的位置。对所有这些过程的研究广泛使用了现代仪器分析方法，各种光谱、色谱和热分析技术尤其突出。在该领域的各个领域的调查之间显然有很强的共同纽带。聚合物降解和稳定性为他们的工作提供了发表的论坛。

Polymer Degradation and Stability deals with the degradation reactions and their control which are a major preoccupation of practitioners of the many and diverse aspects of modern polymer technology.Deteriorative reactions occur during processing, when polymers are subjected to heat, oxygen and mechanical stress, and during the useful life of the materials when oxygen and sunlight are the most important degradative agencies. In more specialised applications, degradation may be induced by high energy radiation, ozone, atmospheric pollutants, mechanical stress, biological action, hydrolysis and many other influences. The mechanisms of these reactions and stabilisation processes must be understood if the technology and application of polymers are to continue to advance. The reporting of investigations of this kind is therefore a major function of this journal.However there are also new developments in polymer technology in which degradation processes find positive applications. For example, photodegradable plastics are now available, the recycling of polymeric products will become increasingly important, degradation and combustion studies are involved in the definition of the fire hazards which are associated with polymeric materials and the microelectronics industry is vitally dependent upon polymer degradation in the manufacture of its circuitry. Polymer properties may also be improved by processes like curing and grafting, the chemistry of which can be closely related to that which causes physical deterioration in other circumstances.Radiation of various kinds is used to initiate many of these modern technological processes so that polymer photochemistry has come to a new prominence and finds a major place in this journal.The study of all these processes has made extensive use of modern instrumental analytical methods and the various spectrometric, chromatographic and thermal analysis techniques have been particularly prominent.There is clearly a strong common bond between investigations in various parts of the field. Polymer Degradation and Stability provides a forum for the publication of their work.