ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the different types of bonds occurring between the atoms constituting a macromolecule, explores essential information regarding the problems of configuration and considers the conformational variations in macromolecular systems. The hydrogen bond is responsible for the phenomenon of polymerisation in water and hydrofluoric acid, formation of ice, conformation of biological macromolecules. The chapter also considers the tacticity: polymers may be isotactic, syndiotactic and atactic. It focuses on the case of polymers in dilute solution, a situation simplified by the fact that the intermolecular interactions can be neglected. The chapter discusses the case of molten or solid polymers. It also describes an ideal chain model, the model of an unperturbed real chain and, finally, the model of real chains perturbed by excluded volume effects. The chapter explains the method used by Flory for describing a macromolecular coil in a good solvent. It also discusses the interaction between neighbouring structural units.
