ABSTRACT
Polymers are long chain-like molecules that are composed of simple units called monomers that are connected together in a linear fashion. Polymers are attractive materials in many applications because of their synthetic accessibility and the ability to rationally tailor their physical properties. For example, the strength, ¸exibility, and stability of the polymers can be controlled by the structure of the monomer units, the number of monomer units in the polymer chain, or the different processing procedures.1 Recently, an exciting new class of polymers called supramolecular polymers has been the subject of considerable research and development. Like conventional polymers, supramolecular polymers are comprised of simple monomer units. However, the monomer units in supramolecular polymers are connected together by weak, reversible noncovalent interactions as opposed to stable covalent
Introduction ............................................................................................................ 301 Properties and Potential of Supramolecular Polymers ...........................................305
