Introduction to the physico-chemical analysis of polymers

industrial plastics are generally complex mixtures of macromolecules (themselves structurally heterogeneous), with additives and possibly fillers. It is easy to foresee that, in practice, analysis problems may arise with very different degrees of difficulty, ranging from summary identification to the study of a particular detail of the polymer's microstructure, or the determination of a trace impurity.

The various physico-chemical methods used to analyze polymers are rapidly evolving in the direction of increasing simplicity, making them accessible to non-specialists. Their ease of use, the speed with which a large amount of information can be obtained, and the possibility of using them empirically, mean that engineers can no longer ignore a number of these methods. The purpose of this introductory article is to give a (non-exhaustive) list of these methods, and to present their various fields of application, giving a few selection criteria. The main methods are the subject of specialized articles in this treatise, which should be referred to for further information.