A review of new approaches to analytical methods to determine the structure and morphology of polymers

Characterization of polymers at various structural levels is very important because it aims, inter alia, to improve the properties of materials used on an industrial scale. Research on the structure and morphology of polymers allows for dependence between their macroscopic properties, morphology, and conformations, and for the interactions of polymer chains to be determined. Mechanistic studies examining the creation and interactions of polymer chains are used to plan the synthesis of new polymeric materials. Several analytical methods such as Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) have been developed to characterize fractography, micro-deformation, nanostructures and self-organization of polymers in detail. In this review, the current status of analytical methods determining details of the structure, morphology and the reorganization of polymeric chains has been summarized. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.