This book gives an overview of recent advances in the science and technology of polymeric and organic materials. Speciality polymers and novel polymeric catalysts have been objects of intense research during the last decade; they have had great influence in the chemical industry and have spawned a variety of new application areas. At the same time, novel investigative methods such as atomic force microscopy and computer simulation have provided new insight into some of the fundamental principles of polymer science. In a systematic and comprehensive manner, each chapter of this book gives a...

The explosion in the scale of production of polymers has made our daily life more convenient during the past several decades, and caused serious discus- sion on recycling and safety. During this time, many polymer researchers who have constructed new industries and new fields of science changed their interests to specialty polymers and some have moved to bioscience. On the other hand, the expected limitations of silicon devices, which are fundamen- tal in the present semiconductor and personal computer world, have initiated much interest in the idea of molecular electronic devices. Based on...