UNIFORM POLYOLEFIN AND POLYMETHACRYLATE

Preparations and properties of synthetic uniform polyolefins and polym ethacrylates are described with emphasizing the necessity of their uti lization for understanding the fundamental problems in polymer chemist ry. Uniform polymer is a polymer composed of molecules uniform with re spect to molecular weight and constitution. While classical organic ch emistry provides means of constructing uniform polymers such as poly(m ethylene)s in stepwise manners, recent advances in separation technolo gy such as supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) have made it possi ble to isolate synthetic uniform polymers from its homologous mixture. Combinations of stereospecific polymerizations and the SFC technique have enabled us to prepare uniform polystyrenes and poly(methyl methac rylate)s with high stereoregularities, which are very useful for syste matic studies on the nature of polymers. The thermal properties of the se uniform polymers are discussed in some detail.