This is the first volume of the celebrated Polymer Yearbook to be published by Rapra Technology.

Polymer Yearbook 18 is a collection of articles that highlight some important areas of current interest in polymer science. There are a total of 16 chapters in this book. The diverse topics covered include synthesis of new materials, the kinetics of polymerisation and the characterisation of polymer systems.

Articles consider the progress which has been made into the synthesis of new materials: polyperylene carboximides and polynaphthalene carboximedes, and key steps in the mechanism of stereochemical control in diene polymerisation using lanthanide catalytic systems. Both of these topics are of general interest and highlight specific aspects of the synthetic method. An article on the organosilicon copolymers with cyclosiloxane fragments in the side chain discusses the synthesis of these materials and also considers their application in the electronic industry. The electronic interest is extended in the article on polyfluoro(meth)acrylates for optical fibers coating: synthesis, general kinetic regularities of their formation and properties.

A connecting theme of this volume is the application of fractal analysis to a number of problems in polymer science. The topic is introduced in a general manner and a series of shorter articles illustrate the application of the method to a wide range of polymer situations and systems. These articles include consideration of the description of PMMA molecular orientation due to clustering, the fractal analysis of curing processes of epoxy resins, and the structural aspects of adhesion in particulate-filled polymer composites. The fractal theme is continued with consideration of the change of microgels structure on curing epoxy polymers in fractal space and an article that considers the various levels of fractality in polymers. The possibility of a connection between fractality of the thermal fluctuation and the free volume in glassy polymers is also explored.

This book will be of interest to anyone working in the field of polymer science that wants a state-of-the-art view of current hot topics.

About the editors...
Professor Richard Pethrick is currently the Head of the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde. He has been editor of Polymer Yearbook for the last twenty years and has also served on the editorial board of a number of other polymer publications including; Polymer International, International Journal of Polymeric Materials and Trends in Polymer Science. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Materials and the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Member of the American Chemical Society, and the Materials Research Society. His research has been primarily in the area of physical characterization of the polymeric materials and composites. Studies of polymers have covered both amorphous and crystalline materials and thermoplastics and thermosetting systems. He has published over 400 original papers and produced 12 patents.

Professor Gennady Zaikov is Professor of Chemistry at the Moscow State Academy of Fine Chemical Technology and is also Deputy Head of the Institute of Chemical Physics of the NM Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics. He has been involved in chemical research for all of his professional life. He is on the Editorial Boards of many well-known and respected chemistry journals and is a prolific writer. He has published over 1650 research publications. He is thus eminently suited to be one of the editors of this book.

Preface
Contributors
1 Advances in the Synthesis of the Poly(perylenecarboximides) and Poly(naphthalenecarboximides)
2 Macromolecular Properties and Topological Structure of Lignin
3 Diene Polymerisation Mechanism with Lanthanide Catalytic Systems
4 Kinetic Model of the Bulk Photopolymerisation of Glycidyl Methacrylate for High Degrees of Conversion
5 Influence of Ultrasound on the Extrusion Processes in Channels of the Forming Head
6 Organosilicon Copolymers with Cyclosiloxane Fragments in the Side Chain
7 Specific Features of the Thermo-oxidation of Thermoresistant Heterochain Polymers
8 Fluorine-containing polymers for materials with the complete internal light-reflection
9 Description of PMMA Molecular Orientation due to Clustering: Theoretical Model
10 The Fractal Analysis of Curing Processes of Epoxy Resins
11 Fractal Analysis of Macromolecules
12 Structural Aspects of Adhesion in Particulate-Filled Polymer Composites
13 Change of Microgel Structure on Curing Epoxy Polymers in Fractal Space
14 Levels of Fractality in Polymers
15 The Fractality of the Fluctuation Free Volume of Glassy Polymers
16 Rapid Method of Estimating the Fractal Dimension of Macromolecular Coils of Biopolymers in Solution
Abbreviations and Acronyms