Book Reviews
Mild criticism must be made of the arbitrariness of selection at
various points. Chapters 1 and 4, for example, describe aliphatic
dicarboxylic and hydroxycarboxylic acids, virtually irrespective
of their specific utility as condensants, and hence including many
substances of minimum interest as 'monomers'. Industrial processes
are treated only sketchily and little attempt is made to present a
critical comparison of the various large-scale routes and procedures
available for intermediates manufacture. Surprisingly, the important
family of amino acids is not considered, and other significant
omissions concerned the phenol precursors of aromatic polyethers;
trimesic acid; the diphenyl- and diphenoxyalkane dicarboxylic
acids; the biscarbamoyl chlorides; the methyladipic acids, and the
difunctional trimethyl hexamethylene compounds, all of which
have acquired considerable interest as condensants in recent
years.
There has been some laxity in proof-reading. The many errors
noted included various mis-spellings of the names 'Qiana' and
'Henkel' and (on pp 105 and 509) certain difficulties with 'formyl'
and 'phthaloyl'. On p 303, Dickson (the co-inventor of Terylene)
is misnamed. The pagination of pp 437-8 was unfortunately trans-
posed in the review copy, and it is to be hoped that users of the
analytical method on p 457 will not maintain their water con-
densers at 250°C! Spectra of the more important substances
could usefully have been included, as could an author index.
The book is not a work of theory, nor one designed to offer new
insights into the subject. Its value is as a compendium of facts and
methods, particularly for laboratory use. As such, despite some
limitations and blemishes, it can be recommended to research
workers seeking help in planning the synthesis of novel con-
densation polymers.
L Goodman
Water soluble polymers
Edited by N. M. Bikales
Plenum Press, New York, 1973, 424 pp. $23.00
In recent years water soluble polymers have been attracting
increasing attention because of their usefulness in industrial and
environmental applications. The most notable properties of these
polymers is their ability to flocculate suspended solids and this has
led to important applications in sewage treatment and paper
making technology (drainage and retention aids). Other important
applications include the so-called secondary recovery of petroleum
from oil fields, the reduction of turbulent friction of fluids and
as a component of water based finished and coatings. This book,
which is based on papers presented to a symposium held by the
American Chemical Society in August 1972, provides an important
and valuable review of the above topics and also a number of
papers on the synthesis and characterization of water soluble
polymers. The industrial manufacture of one of the most important
Conference Announcement
Rubber and Rubber Elasticity
UMIST, Manchester, 27 and 28 March 1974
The Fifth Biennial Manchester Polymer Sym-
posium on Rubber and Rubber Elasticity has
been organized at UMIST on 27 and 28 March
1974 to mark the retirement of Professor L. R. G.
Treloar from his Chair of Polymer and Fibre
Science in the Institute. Recent developments in
the chemistry and physics of elastomers will be
presented by distinguished workers from USA,
Japan and UK. Applications for registration
should be made as soon as possible to The
Registrar, University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology (UMIST), PO Box 88,
Manchester M60 1QD, UK.
192 POLYMER, 1974, Vol. 15, March
of these polymers, polyacrylamide, is described in detail. The
description of many new polymers and their synthesis is discussed
in six papers. The section on Characterization (six papers) includes
the description of the methods of exclusion chromatography,
sedimentation equilibrium, viscoelastic properties together with
an account of the biological activity of these polymers.
The papers as a whole provide a thorough examination of this
new and important area of polymer science and application.
C. E. H. Brown
High-modulus wholly aromatic fibres
Edited by W. B. Black and J. Preston
Marcel Dekker, New York, 1973. $22.50
The search for fibres having improved strength, modulus and
high-temperature performance compared with conventional
materials for use as reinforcing agents and in other specialized
applications is of the greatest industrial importance. The publica-
tion of a book devoted to one particular class of materials which
show great promise is, therefore, welcome, even though it is based
on the proceedings of a conference at which the contributors,
with one exception, were from a single company, and some of the
contributions have previously been published elsewhere. Actually,
although the editors in their preface apologize for the restricted
sources of the contributions, this is in fact an advantage from the
reader's point of view, for it gives to the whole a unity of aim and
general cohesion which is all too often lacking in collective works
of this kind.
The contributions are arranged in three main sections, con-
cerned respectively with: (a) the chemistry involved in the prepara-
tion of aromatic fibres, mainly of the polyamide--hydrazide type;
(b) the characterization of the morphology and physical properties
of a representative type of fibre; and (c) applications to com-
posites, tyre cords, etc.
The materials examined have values of tenacity of the order
of 500 g/denier, combined with sufficiently high values of extensi-
bility ( ~ 4 % or more) to give them considerable advantages over
their principal competitors (glass, carbon fibres, etc.). It is sur-
prising (to the reviewer) to see how far the technical development
and scientific assessment of this class of materials has advanced.
Of particular interest are the frequent allusions to the calculated
values of elastic modulus, inspired by the original work of H.
Mark, work which at the time must surely have been regarded
as of purely academic interest, but which is now seen to have
quite direct practical relevance.
The book is well produced, and will be held in considerable
esteem by both academic and industrial workers in the field of
synthetic polymers and fibres.
L. R. G. Treloar
Conference Announcement
State of order in amorphous
polymers
Sorrento, Naples, Italy, 1-3 May 1974
The 2nd Europhysics Conference of the Section
of Macromolecular Physics (of the European
Physical Society, Division of the Physics of
Condensed Matter), originally scheduled to take
place in October 1973 at Naples, will now be held
from 1 to 3 May 1974 at Sorrento, near Naples.
A full programme of both invited and contributed
papers on the State of Order in Amorphous
Polymers has been arranged. Further details
may be obtained from Professor Paolo Cor-
radini, Istituto Chimico, Via Mezzocannone 4,
80134 Napoli, Italy.