While books have been written on many topics of Polymer Science,no comp- hensive treatise o n l ong-chain b ranching has e ver b een c omposed.This se ries o f reviews in Volume 142 an d 143 o f Advances in P olymer Science tries to fill this gap by highlighting active areas of research on branched polymers. Long-chain branching is a p henomenon observed in s ynthetic polymers and in some natural polysaccharides.It has l ong been r ecognized as a ma jor molecular parameter of macromolecules.Its presence was first surmised by H.Staudinger and G.V.Schulz (Ber.68,2320,1935).Interestingly,their method of identifica- on b y m eans o f the a bnormal r elation b etween in trinsic viscosity an d mo lecular weight has s urvived to this day.Indeed,the most sophisticated method for a- lysis o f long-chain b ranching use s size ex clusion fractionation with the simul- neous recording of mass,molecular weight and intrinsic viscosity of the fr- tions.

Highest Impact Factor of all journals ranked by ISI within Polymer Science Short and concise reports on physics and chemistry of polmyers, each written by the world renowned experts Still valid and useful after 5 or 10 years

Inhalt
Hyperbranched Polymers.- Conformational Properties of Branched Polymers: Theory and Simulations.- Solution Properties of Branched Macromolecules.- Entangled Dynamics and Melt Flow of Branched Polymers.