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Chemical reactions of natural and synthetic polymers
210 The chapters on surface tension, polymer adsorption, and interfacial polymer layers are good summaries of the classical theory of these areas and can be recommended as single sources of the details. Other chapters of the book explore novel areas of application of interfacial aspects of polymers and are at least thought-provoking and should stimulate new ways of thinking about old problems, The presentation is as camera ready copy and all equations are neatly handwritten. The references, being single spaced, are a bit painful to the eye in the density of type. Certain inconsistencies in the spelling of authors names are apparent also. R.W. RICHARDS
Chemical Reactions of Natural and Synthetic Polymers, by M. Lazar, T. Bleha and J. Rychly, Ellis Horwood, Chichester, 250 pages, ISBN 0-7458-0193-5, 1989, $68.45. This is a translation of an original Czechoslovakian manuscript, and the translation editor, T.J. Kemp, himself an academic chemist, has done an excellent job in producing a smooth text, which clearly does justice to the original Czechoslovakian word. The book covers all aspects of chemical reactions of polymers in a manner somewhat different to earlier texts, and so perhaps presents an unusual insight into topics which could prove extremely valuable. It also brings together, to some extent, an unusual combination of topics and again this could be extremely stimulating, The major weakness of the book however is that the treatment of particular topics is somewhat dated, although this is balanced to some extent by useful citation of the East European literature. Chapter II deals with many of the classical physical chemical aspects of chemical reactions involving macromolecules. It does suc-
ceed, however, in bringing forward some new combinations of ideas and includes a significant discussion of solid state reactions. Chapter III covers the organic chemistry of polymer modification. Again the treatment is refreshing but more comprehensive coverage has already been produced in other reviews and textbooks. Chapter IV describes grafting reactions and deals only briefly with central concepts. Chapter V deals in more detail with crosslinking reactions and is one of the examples of where a somewhat unconventional inclusion of a topic adds interest to the book. This is also true of the very brief Chapter VI describing exchange reactions of polymers. Chapter VII is a substantial piece of work on degradation, which needs to be read with Chapter VIII dealing with stabilisation techniques. Surprisingly however the fifty pages of these two chapters yield only 35 literature references. Chapter IX is an interesting contribution in that it deals with the "materials property" consequences of chemically modifying polymers. The effects on the solid state, on solution properties, on permeability, on surface properties, and on mechanical and electrical properties are the topics covered. Finally, Chapter X describes some current and potential applications of chemically modified polymers. The treatment here is somewhat superficial and conservative but nevertheless it adds a useful tailpiece to the book. There is little doubt that most of the topics covered by the book are dealt with in more detail and with more comprehensive referencing in other textbooks. The strength of the present work is in its rather unusual gathering of topics, and in its unusual approach. As a result the book will prove useful to all those interested in chemically modifying polymers, and those seeking a general background description of this growing area of importance. One final note of c a u t i o n - - t h e coverage of "natural polymers" is only casual and the inclusion of this in the title should not be allowed to mislead would-be specialists in
211
this particular area that this is a book for them! D.C. SHERRINGTON
Optimization of Chromatographic Selectivity, by Peter J. Schoenmakers, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1986, hardcover, xvi + 346 pages, ISBN 0-444-42681-7, Dfl.215.00/$110.25. This book consists of seven chapters: Chap. 1, Introduction; Chap. 2, Selection of methods; Chap. 3, Parameters affecting selectivity; Chap. 4, Optimization criteria; Chap. 5, Optimization procedures; Chap. 6, Programmed analysis; Chap. 7, System optimization. The entire book is carefully written and numerous pertinent equations are given. I found the coverage of parameters affecting selectivity in gas chromatography and liquid chromatography (Chap. 3) to be especially thorough and valuable. On the other hand, Chap. 2 on method selection seems rather weak and projects almost no personal expertise on the part of the author. The book covers gas and liquid chromatography very well, but almost nothing about ion chromatography is included, On balance, I found this to be a valuable and readable book. JAMES S. F R I T Z
Iowa State University
A S T M Standards on Chromatography, sponsored by ASTM Subcommittee E19.07 on Compilation of Chromatographic Methods, ASTM, Philadelphia, 2nd edition, 1989, softcover, vii + 805 pages, $69.00 (ASTM members $55.20). This paper-back book is well done and the various procedures are clearly indexed. For each method it gives the scope, referenced documents, terminology, significance and use, application, apparatus and other pertinent in-
formation. The procedures have stood the test of time, although it would be nice if some of the methods were modernized. For example, method D2580 for phenols in water by GC allows only the use of a packed column. However, method D2600 for light saturated hydrocarbons specificies any column including open tubular capillary that meets certain conditions. This book will be invaluable for many analytical chemists. JAMES S. FRITZ Iowa State University
Polymers in Colloidal Systems--Adsorption, Stability and Flow, edited by Th. F. Tadros, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 1988, hardcover, x + 412 pages, Dfl. 2 9 5 . 0 0 / U S $155.25 This volume reports most of the proceedings of a conference held in Veldhoven, The Netherlands in 1987. The conference was focussed on developments in the theoretical and experimental aspects of polymer adsorption in colloidal systems. Essentially the book is a follow-up to a similar earlier monograph also by the same editor and in which many of the contributors to that volume also appear here. The coverage of polymer adsorption is extremely wide; theory, small angle neutron scattering, NMR, QELS, flocculation, desorption, kinetics and rheological aspects are all covered here. There is a large group of papers concerned with force-distance measurements and the use of the Israelichvili "box". Evidently in this selection there will be something of interest to all concerned with the subject of stabilisation and flocculation of colloidal dispersions. A note of caution, the contents are not all of consistent quality. It would be invidious if not libellous to cornment on the poor contributions; however, it would be unfair not to comment on some of the good papers. Amongst these is the excel-
Chemical Reactions of Natural and Synthetic Polymers, by M. Lazar, T. Bleha and J. Rychly, Ellis Horwood, Chichester, 250 pages, ISBN 0-7458-0193-5, 1989, $68.45. This is a translation of an original Czechoslovakian manuscript, and the translation editor, T.J. Kemp, himself an academic chemist, has done an excellent job in producing a smooth text, which clearly does justice to the original Czechoslovakian word. The book covers all aspects of chemical reactions of polymers in a manner somewhat different to earlier texts, and so perhaps presents an unusual insight into topics which could prove extremely valuable. It also brings together, to some extent, an unusual combination of topics and again this could be extremely stimulating, The major weakness of the book however is that the treatment of particular topics is somewhat dated, although this is balanced to some extent by useful citation of the East European literature. Chapter II deals with many of the classical physical chemical aspects of chemical reactions involving macromolecules. It does suc-
ceed, however, in bringing forward some new combinations of ideas and includes a significant discussion of solid state reactions. Chapter III covers the organic chemistry of polymer modification. Again the treatment is refreshing but more comprehensive coverage has already been produced in other reviews and textbooks. Chapter IV describes grafting reactions and deals only briefly with central concepts. Chapter V deals in more detail with crosslinking reactions and is one of the examples of where a somewhat unconventional inclusion of a topic adds interest to the book. This is also true of the very brief Chapter VI describing exchange reactions of polymers. Chapter VII is a substantial piece of work on degradation, which needs to be read with Chapter VIII dealing with stabilisation techniques. Surprisingly however the fifty pages of these two chapters yield only 35 literature references. Chapter IX is an interesting contribution in that it deals with the "materials property" consequences of chemically modifying polymers. The effects on the solid state, on solution properties, on permeability, on surface properties, and on mechanical and electrical properties are the topics covered. Finally, Chapter X describes some current and potential applications of chemically modified polymers. The treatment here is somewhat superficial and conservative but nevertheless it adds a useful tailpiece to the book. There is little doubt that most of the topics covered by the book are dealt with in more detail and with more comprehensive referencing in other textbooks. The strength of the present work is in its rather unusual gathering of topics, and in its unusual approach. As a result the book will prove useful to all those interested in chemically modifying polymers, and those seeking a general background description of this growing area of importance. One final note of c a u t i o n - - t h e coverage of "natural polymers" is only casual and the inclusion of this in the title should not be allowed to mislead would-be specialists in
211
this particular area that this is a book for them! D.C. SHERRINGTON
Optimization of Chromatographic Selectivity, by Peter J. Schoenmakers, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1986, hardcover, xvi + 346 pages, ISBN 0-444-42681-7, Dfl.215.00/$110.25. This book consists of seven chapters: Chap. 1, Introduction; Chap. 2, Selection of methods; Chap. 3, Parameters affecting selectivity; Chap. 4, Optimization criteria; Chap. 5, Optimization procedures; Chap. 6, Programmed analysis; Chap. 7, System optimization. The entire book is carefully written and numerous pertinent equations are given. I found the coverage of parameters affecting selectivity in gas chromatography and liquid chromatography (Chap. 3) to be especially thorough and valuable. On the other hand, Chap. 2 on method selection seems rather weak and projects almost no personal expertise on the part of the author. The book covers gas and liquid chromatography very well, but almost nothing about ion chromatography is included, On balance, I found this to be a valuable and readable book. JAMES S. F R I T Z
Iowa State University
A S T M Standards on Chromatography, sponsored by ASTM Subcommittee E19.07 on Compilation of Chromatographic Methods, ASTM, Philadelphia, 2nd edition, 1989, softcover, vii + 805 pages, $69.00 (ASTM members $55.20). This paper-back book is well done and the various procedures are clearly indexed. For each method it gives the scope, referenced documents, terminology, significance and use, application, apparatus and other pertinent in-
formation. The procedures have stood the test of time, although it would be nice if some of the methods were modernized. For example, method D2580 for phenols in water by GC allows only the use of a packed column. However, method D2600 for light saturated hydrocarbons specificies any column including open tubular capillary that meets certain conditions. This book will be invaluable for many analytical chemists. JAMES S. FRITZ Iowa State University
Polymers in Colloidal Systems--Adsorption, Stability and Flow, edited by Th. F. Tadros, Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, 1988, hardcover, x + 412 pages, Dfl. 2 9 5 . 0 0 / U S $155.25 This volume reports most of the proceedings of a conference held in Veldhoven, The Netherlands in 1987. The conference was focussed on developments in the theoretical and experimental aspects of polymer adsorption in colloidal systems. Essentially the book is a follow-up to a similar earlier monograph also by the same editor and in which many of the contributors to that volume also appear here. The coverage of polymer adsorption is extremely wide; theory, small angle neutron scattering, NMR, QELS, flocculation, desorption, kinetics and rheological aspects are all covered here. There is a large group of papers concerned with force-distance measurements and the use of the Israelichvili "box". Evidently in this selection there will be something of interest to all concerned with the subject of stabilisation and flocculation of colloidal dispersions. A note of caution, the contents are not all of consistent quality. It would be invidious if not libellous to cornment on the poor contributions; however, it would be unfair not to comment on some of the good papers. Amongst these is the excel-