Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Polymers

Polymers are large molecules, or macromolecules, built from many repeating structural units called monomers joined by covalent bonds, giving them characteristic high molecular weights and emergent physical properties. They occur naturally, as in polysaccharide gums, cellulose, proteins, and nucleic acids, and are pr…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 12 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 114× across the literature 🗓 Reviewed June 2026

Overview

Polymers are large molecules, or macromolecules, built from many repeating structural units called monomers joined by covalent bonds, giving them characteristic high molecular weights and emergent physical properties. They occur naturally, as in polysaccharide gums, cellulose, proteins, and nucleic acids, and are produced synthetically through controlled polymerization. Two broad mechanisms dominate: addition polymerization, in which unsaturated monomers such as acrylates link without byproducts, and condensation polymerization, in which monomers couple with elimination of a small molecule. Copolymers combine two or more monomer types, and grafting attaches side chains to a backbone to tailor solubility and function. Biodegradable polymers, including poly-caprolactone and many polyesters, are designed to break down under physiological or environmental conditions. The relationship between molecular architecture, chain length, crystallinity, and crosslinking and the resulting mechanical, thermal, and transport properties underpins rational polymer design. Conducting polymers such as polypyrrole add electrical functionality, and nanostructured fillers like carbon nanotubes yield reinforced composites. These structure-property relationships enable diverse applications: natural gums and synthetic carriers control drug release, hybrid monolithic columns serve as separation media in chromatography, specialized acrylate polymers assist enhanced oil recovery, and biodegradable matrices support biomedical and environmental uses. Polymer science thus bridges fundamental chemistry and materials engineering.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

2019

Application of Acrylates in Enhanced Oil Recovery

El-hoshoudy A.N.Corresponding author
Production department, Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Naser City, Cairo, Egypt.
Exact topic New Developments in Chemistry Cited by 12 doi:10.14302/issn.2377-2549.jndc-19-2720
2020

pH-Sensitive Nanomedicine for Treating Gynaecological Cancers

Vishwanath Prasad PramodCorresponding author
Center for Biomedical Research, Population Council, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
Exact topic Women's Reproductive Health Cited by 8 doi:10.14302/issn.2381-862X.jwrh-19-3143

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 114 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Polymers, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Polymer Science Research.

Journal editorial board
Giulia Auriemma · Italy Catarina Pinto Reis · Portugal Tonya Andreeva · Germany

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.