Modern society is so reliant on polymers that products incorporating these macromolecules are almost ‘invisible’. Polymers are indispensable materials used for manufacturing compact disks, clothes, lightweight airplanes, automobiles, footware and even the humble polystyrene boxes for packing our favorite hamburgers and fries.
But, like many other materials, polymers degrade and become unstable, so a deeper understanding of the physical mechanisms responsible for degradation is necessary to address issues such as potential applications, recycling and the impact of polymer-products on the environment.
In particular, polymers are highly vulnerable to oxidative degradation at elevated temperatures and in sunlight. Unfortunately, in spite of extensive research on polymer degradation, our knowledge is still incomplete.
The analysis of polymer degradation and stability has recently become harder and more complicated because of the wider range of polymer applications, including blends and composites. Notably, composites with nanofillers are being studied for automotive, electrical and other industrial applications.
With this background, the 1st International Symposium on Ultimate Stability of NanoStructured Polymers and Composites (NT2007) was held in October at the Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Ishikawa Prefecture. The meeting provided a forum to discuss advanced research achievements to resolve problems in this field of research.
The papers selected for this focus issue describe recent discoveries on the stability, weatherability and flame retardancy of polymers, as well as providing an insight into degradation mechanisms of nanostructured polymers and composites.
We hope that this focus issue will serve as a timely source of information about one of the most important topics in polymer science and related technologies.