-

Since their first industrial use polymers have gained a tremendous success. The two volumes of "Polymers - Opportunities and Risks" elaborate on both their potentials and on the impact on the environment arising from their production and applications. Volume 11 "Polymers - Opportunities and Risks I: General and Environmental Aspects" is dedicated to the basics of the engineering of polymers – always with a view to possible environmental implications. Topics include: materials, processing, designing, surfaces, the utilization phase, recycling, and depositing. Volume 12 "Polymers - Opportunities and Risks II: Sustainability, Product Design and Processing" highlights raw materials and renewable polymers, sustainability, additives for manufacture and processing, melt modification, biodegradation, adhesive technologies, and solar applications. All contributions were written by leading experts with substantial practical experience in their fields. They are an invaluable source of information not only for scientists, but also for environmental managers and decision makers.

In this special volume on polymer particles, recent trends and developments in the synthesis of nano- to micron-sized polymer particles by radical polymerization (Emulsion, Miniemulsion, Microemulsion, and Dispersion Polymerizations) of vinyl monomers in environmentally friendly heterogeneous aqueous and supercritical carbon dioxide fluid media are reviewed by prominent worldwide researchers. In addition to the important challenges and possibilities with regards to design and preparation of functionalized polymer particles of controlled size, the topics described are of great current interest due to the increased awareness of environmental issues.

Soft matter science is nowadays an acronym for an increasingly important class of materials, which ranges from polymers, liquid crystals, colloids up to complex macromolecular assemblies, covering sizes from the nanoscale up the microscale. Computer simulations have proven as an indispensable, if not the most powerful, tool to understand properties of these materials and link theoretical models to experiments. In this first volume of a small series recognized leaders of the field review advanced topics and provide critical insight into the state-of-the-art methods and scientific questions of this lively domain of soft condensed matter research.

S. Georgiou: Laser Cleaning Methodologies of Polymer Substrates; T. Lippert: Laser Application of Polymers; J. Krueger, W. Kautek: Ultrashort Pulse Laser Interactions with Polymers and Dielectrics; Y. Zhang: Synchrotron Radiation Direct Photo-Etching of Polymers.

Constitutive Models for Rubber XII is a comprehensive compilation of the oral and poster contributions to the XII European Conference on Constitutive Models for Rubbers (Milan, Italy, 7-9 September 2022). As the first after the COVID Pandemic, the XII edition again brought together researchers from the industry and the academia working in the field of elastomer technology and science to discuss the most recent advancement in the following topics: • Constitutive models • Micro-structural investigations • Experimental methods and characterization • Numerical methods • Fatigue and fracture • Aging • Industrial applications • Smart elastomer materials: applications and modelling Including more than 80 contributions from authors from around the world, this book aims at professionals and academics interested in elastomer technology and science.

This series presents critical reviews of the present and future trends in polymer and biopolymer science including chemistry, physical chemistry, physics and materials science. It is addressed to all scientists at universities and in industry who wish to keep abreast of advances in the topics covered. Impact Factor Ranking: Always number one in Polymer Science. More information as well as the electronic version of the whole content available at: www.springerlink.com

1. J.D. Marty, M. Mauzac: Molecular Imprinting: State of the Art and Perspectives.- 2. H. Ito: Chemical Amplification Resists for Microlithography