NMR IMAGING OF POLYMER MATERIALS

The principles of NMR imaging applicable to materials are reviewed, an d examples of current developments given. Among the different types of materials, polymers are particularly suitable for NMR imaging, becaus e they are rich in protons, the most sensitive NMR nucleus. While the spatial resolution in solid materials is restricted to dimensions larg er than 50 mum, the interest in NMR as an imaging technique derives fr om the abundance of parameters, which can be converted to image contra st for localization and identification of material morphology, chemist ry and physics. Particular progress has been achieved in imaging of po lymer melts and liquids, where diffusion and non-Newtonian flow are in vestigated as well as of elastomers, where composition, deterioration by thermal and mechanical aging, and stress distribution can be charac terized.