Polymers

For a material to be classified as a polymer, it must consist of bound repeating units of a monomer, which is a molecule that has the ability to react with other molecules. It is often thought that these materials can only be synthetic, but polymers also occur in nature. Cellulose, a critical component of plants, is classified as a polymer as it is made up of repeat units of sugar molecules. Human-made polymers include concrete, plastic, and glass. These synthetic polymers are often the product of a polymerization reaction which adds monomers onto the growing polymer chain, including addition or condensation reactions.

Polymers are fundamental aspects of daily lives and continuous innovation in the field is a necessity. This collection is dedicated to novel research in the field, on both a theoretical and experimental basis. Submissions to this collection can be focused on but not limited to the following areas:

• Polymerization reactions
• Applications/uses of polymers
• Bio-inspired polymers/biopolymers
• Polymer theory
• Characterization techniques