ASPECTS OF ACID-BASE INTERACTIONS AND USE OF INVERSE GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY

Acid-base forces are known to contribute significantly to interactions in macromolecular systems. The evolution of acid-base concepts is tra ced from their early stages, as represented by the work of Lewis, Bron sted and others, to their current, complex state, with particular refe rence to their application to polymers. The requirement to express aci d-base interactions quantitatively draws attention to the techniques o f inverse gas chromatography. The ability of this technique to furnish information on acid-base interaction potentials of polymer surfaces i s considered critically, as is its use in evaluations of polymer surfa ce energetics. The large and rapidly expanding amount of literature on the capability of acid-base interactions to rationalize various indus trially important properties of complex polymer systems has not been r eviewed in detail. In this paper, a series of illustrations is used to indicate the power of acid-base concepts in effecting this rationaliz ation. These illustrations suggest the need to take into account acid- base interactions if polymer systems are to be formulated, so as to sa tisfy steadily increasing demands on their performance and durability.