SUNY-ESF Department of Chemistry

FOREST CHEMISTRY 551: "Polymer Techniques" 3 credits

Professor: Dr. W. T. Winter

Telephone: 470-6876

Office: 215 Edwin C. Jahn Laboratory

FAX:           470-6856

Assistant: Ms. Darya Prokhorova, 236 Jahn
                   470-4806, daprokhorova@gmail.com

Email: wtwinter@syr.edu

 

 Hours:

This class meets in room 122 Jahn on Wednesdays from 12:45 to 1:40 P.M. for lecture. Laboratory groups meet on Wednesdays from 2:00 PM to 5:00 P.M. (rooms vary with the experiment in progress).

Assignments

 There will be twelve (12) experiments. Students will prepare five (5) detailed reports covering the general areas of 

  1.  Polymer synthesis, (3 weeks)
  2.  Molecular weight determination by gel permeation chromatography, intrinsic viscosity and light scattering, (3 weeks)
  3.  DSC and TGA (2 weeks)
  4.  DMA and x-ray diffraction (2 weeks)
  5.  Spectroscopic characterization of polymers by NMR and FTIR (2weeks)

Reports will be prepared by each student (either individually or as a group). Each report is due one week after completion of the experiments that it covers. Format of the reports is discussed below. The final oral examinations (closed book, no notes) are set for the week of December  7, 2006.

 Text:
  1. Handouts for each experiment are either on the intranet site or handed out in class the preceding week. All intranet  material is available from links on the scheduling page, see below. You can not access these links from off campus sites
  2. Readings from the texts used in FCH552 - currently Cowie (1991) Polymers: Chemistry & Physics of Modern Materials: 2nd Edn. Fried (1995) "Polymer Science and Technology" Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ and Young and Lovell (1991) "Introduction to Polymers, 2nd Edn." Chapman & Hall, New York, NY.
  3. Selected readings from "Polymer Characterization: Physical Techniques, 2nd Edn" by D. Campbell, R.A. Pethrick and J. R. White (Chapman and Hall ) and "Polymer Synthesis and Characterization" by S.R. Sandler, W. Karo, J.A. Bonesteel, E.M. Pearce (Academic Press) are required reading. Additional selected background material may be placed on course reserve in Moon Library under the Instructor's name (Winter)

 Office  

Hours:

 By appointment, leave a note, phone, email (preferred) to arrange a time.

 Objectives:

The purpose of this course is to acquaint the beginning student in polymer chemistry with a broad spectrum of techniques routinely employed in the study of macromolecules by both industrial and academic research laboratories. Both synthetic and characterization aspects of polymer science will be represented, although emphasis will be on the latter.

 Schedule:

Click here for the current list of experiments and schedule

 Groups:

Group I,                                Group II

 Reports:
  1. Each student group will obtain a small bound notebook in which to record raw data and comments on problems encountered during the experiments. 
  2. Before coming to the class each week, the group will investigate the toxicity and safe handling data for reagents, solvents and products used in their experiment and summarize their findings in the bound notebook.
  3. A copy of this report will be submitted with the final report and there may be unannounced quizzes on this information during the lab period. The raw data is entered below this report and on following pages as needed. 
  4. When an exercise is completed, all group members sign at the bottom in the presence of the TA or instructor who signs as a witness. A copy of these pages is to be submitted with the actual report. 
  5. A total of five (4) reports are required as indicated above. In general, each report is due one week after the completion of all requisite experimental work.
  6. For a description of the report format see 551rpt.html

Final Exam:

The final examination will be based upon the experiments and discussion in class. The final examinations will be individual, oral, closed book examinations. They will be held during the week of December 5 with sign up the preceding Wednesday.

Please note: since this time and date has been announced on August 25, 2005, I will not entertain schedule changes based on purchases of airline tickets or other similar issues.

 Grading:
  1. Each week's work counts for 6% of your grade, i.e. a report on 2 weeks' work is 12 % of your grade. 
  2. Reports which are not written in a clear manner may be returned for correction and/or revision.
  3. One letter grade will be deducted for each week or fraction thereof that a report is late. 
  4. Collaboration within the experimental group is encouraged and you may submit a group report. This does not mean that students should partition the project in such a way that each person only has partial responsibility.  Remember that you will be responsible for all aspects of the experiments in the final examination.
  5. Reports which do not contain the required comparison between experiments will be returned and marked late. 
  6. The final exam will count for 23% of your grade and an A on the final is required to attain an A in the course. This is essential since it is the only indication of individual rather than collective abilities
  7. 5% of the final grade will depend upon you r interaction in class ands the laboratory

 Safety:

Follow this link to see current laboratory safety information for FCH551


 

 References   (This is only a partial list of the many useful references available in our libraries.)

General

Allen, Sir Geoffrey, (Ed): Comprehensive Polymer Science, Pergamon Press, NY c.1989 a six volume series with individual volumes on 1)Characterization 2) Properties 3)chain polymerization (2 volumes) 4) step polymerization and 6) polymer reactions.
LOCATION:  QD381 .C66 1989 (both Sci Tech and Moon libraries)

Collins, Bares and Billmeyer: Experiments in Polymer Science (on reserve Moon Lib)

Craver, SC. D., (Ed): Polymer characterization: chromatographic and physical instrumental methods. Am. Chem. Soc., Washington DC, c.1983
LOCATION:  QD1.A24 #203. Sci. Tech. Lib

Forsman, W. C. , (Ed.): Polymers in Solution: theoretical considerations and newer methods of characterization, Plenum Press, New York c. 986 QD381 .P61245 (Sci. Tech Lib)

Pearce, Wright and Bordoloi: Laboratory experiments in polymer synthesis and characterization, EMMSE, University Park c.1982
LOCATION:  QD281.P6 P4, Moon Lib

Rabek: Experimental Methods in Polymer Chemistry QD381.R3

Report Writing

Dodd, J. S. The ACS style guide : a manual for authors and editors. Washington, DC : American Chemical Society, 1986.

LOCATION:  Moon Lib-reserve QD8.5 .A25 1986

Ebel, H. F.. The art of scientific writing : from student reports to professional publications in chemistry and related fields. Weinheim, Federal Republic of Germany ; New York, NY, USA :VCH, c1987.
LOCATION:  Sci/Tech Lib QD9.15 .E23 1987
LOCATION:  Moon Lib-Stacks QD9.15 .E23 1987

Kanare, Howard M., Writing the laboratory notebook: Washington, D.C.American Chemical Society, 1985.
LOCATION:  Sci/Tech Lib Q180.58 .K36 1985
LOCATION:  Moon Lib-Stacks Q180.58 .K36 1985

Schoenfeld, R. The chemist's English 3rd, rev. ed., Weinheim, Germany ; New York, NY, USA , VCH, 1989, c1990.
LOCATION:  Moon Lib-Stacks QD9.15 .S3 1989
LOCATION:  Sci/Tech Lib QD9.15 .S3 1989
 

DSC

Turi, E. A.: Thermal characterization of polymeric materials, Academic Press, NY. c. 1981
LOCATION: TA455.P58 T5 Sci Tech Lib.

GPC

Provder, T. (Ed): Size exclusion chromatography: methodology and characterization of polymers and related materials. Am. Chem Soc., Washington DC, c. 1984
LOCATION:  QD272.C444 S6 Sci Tech Lib and Moon Lib
 

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Page created on August 25, 2005  by Dr. W.T. Winter <wtwinter@syr.edu>
Page Maintained by Dr. W.T. Winter - Last Change made August 30, 2006