Science and Technology of Polymers and Advanced Materials : Applied Research Methods

Increasing interest in lightweight and high-performance materials is leading to significant research activity in the area of polymers and composites. One recent focus is to develop multifunctional materials that have more than one property tailored as to the specified design requirements, in addition to achieving low density. The possibility of simultaneously tailoring several desired properties is attractive but very challenging, and it requires significant advancement in the science and technology of high-performance functional polymers and composites.

This volume presents a selection of new approaches in the field of composites and nanomaterials, polymer synthesis and applications, and materials and their properties. Some composites/nanocomposites and interfaces are explored as well, some with medical applications. The authors also look at simulations and modeling, synthesis involving photochemistry, self-assembled hydrogels, and sol-gel processing.

Omari Vasilii Mukbaniani, DSc, is Professor and Chair of the Macromolecular Chemistry Department of Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia. He is also the Director of the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry at Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and a member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Georgia. His research interests include polymer chemistry, polymeric materials, and chemistry of organosilicon compounds, as well as methods of precision synthesis to build blocks and the development of graft and comb-type structures.

Tamara Tatrishvili, PhD, is Senior Specialist at the Unite of Academic Process Management (Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences) at Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University as well as Senior Researcher at the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry and Polymeric Materials in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Marc J. M. Abadie, DSc, is Professor Emeritus at the University of Montpellier, Institute Charles Gerhardt of Montpelier, Aggregates, Interfaces and Materials Energy (ICGM-AIME, UMR CNRS 5253), France. He was head of the Laboratory of Polymer Science and Advanced Organic Materials – LEMP/MAO. He is currently Michael Fam Visiting Professor at the School of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University NTU, Singapore.