3 Review(s)

In the past 15 years, free-radical polymerization has undergone a dramatic revitalization. "Living polymerization", ATRP (atom-transfer radical polymerization) and RAFT (reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer) polymerization have come to dominate research in this area. Powerful experimental and analytical techniques are now used to probe the basic kinetics and mechanisms of the processes involved. High degrees of control over physical and chemical properties have lead to more efficient polymer production and new products. The state of the art in all these areas was presented and discussed at the IUPAC-sponsored "International Symposium on Free-Radical Polymerization: Kinetics and Mechanism" (SML'01) held in Il Ciocco, Italy, in June 2001. This volume of Macromolecular Symposia is a collection of most of the main lectures and a selection of the shorter ones, presenting an excellent overview of modern research in free-radical polymerization.