3. Reminders about structure and cohesive forces

3.1 General

The properties of polymers are discussed in detail elsewhere in the monographs in this treatise (under the headings Thermoplastics: monographs and Thermosets: monographs ), but in the following we shall attempt to establish causal relationships between the general structural characteristics of polymers, which depend on polymerization parameters (cf. , and described in the articles Polymerization and Molecular structure and morphology of polymers and their physical and mechanical properties.

To this end, we will :

• make an inventory of influential structural features ;

• identify subsets with common general structural...