Reddit mentions: The best polymers & textiles books

I mostly learned from a variety of sources, as there's not an ideal single text on this avenue of research, IMO.

I found general small-angle scattering references for free here and here, the latter being a PDF document from the EMBL small-angle scattering group. For NSE experiments on these sorts of systems, it's pretty much expected you've already done characterization of your samples via small-angle x-ray and/or neutron scattering

I'd also recommend the NIST Summer School course materials as a good and inexpensive way to get started on the neutron spectroscopy side of things. Most of what I'd seen in terms of texts tended to be fairly pricey monographs when starting out, so I'd either borrow stuff from coworkers or my institutional library. There are advanced undergrad/starting grad student texts on x-ray & neutron scattering - e.g., 1 and 2 - but I didn't find out about them until a bit further into my studies.

As might be obvious, there's definitely inspiration and foundational work to be found in the polymer science literature. I went running to Doi and Edwards, for example, when I realized that I needed more background reading in this area, but I'm sure others have their particular favorites in this and related areas.

Insofar as the bio-side of things, well, I've been doing biophysically oriented research since I was an undergrad. I'd suggest a popular biophysics text as well (either Nelson's Biological Physics or Physical Biology of the Cell ) as a starting point/reference. These are aimed towards advanced undergraduates or new grad students as well, mostly due to the interdisciplinary nature of the topics. Speaking of PBoC, one of the authors maintains a publications page where you can check out the PDFs of his group's work.

I think I'll end there, as I think that should be enough pleasure reading for a little while, at least.

I worked with just this.

I never found a single best book. Use a combination of:

• ASTM Standards
  
  
• Research papers where people worked with specific polymers (I made my own spreadsheets with properties and profiles from various papers and resources)
  
  
• company documentation (suppliers and etc GELEST has some pretty good stuff for silicones)
  
  
• basic polymer science (this book is pretty good: https://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Polymer-Science-Engineering-Painter/dp/1932078754)
  
  
  If you find a single good resource I'd love to know. I ran TGA on silicone and epoxy nanocomposites daily for 3 years. I also conducted thermal conductivity testing with a custom setup. If you know the polymer chemistry you should be able to figure out the TGA profiles. However, thermal analysis alone is not sufficient if you don't know what's in your sample, you need at a minimum also FTIR (and possibly NMR and raman)
  
  I used a combination of FTIR and TGA to answer questions about my materials, determine grafting density (polymers grafted to the ceramic nanoparticles) and more.
  
  Good luck!
  
  
  EDIT: I sifted through stacks of books at our university library and they rarely had what I was looking for. For your case that might be different.

http://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Science-Technology-Joel-Fried/dp/0130181684/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323798685&sr=1-1

is this the one you are talking about ?

as someone with little background in engineering, physics, pchem, i am looking for a book that appeals to the organic chemist.

here is another option i found, with a good amazon rating

http://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Chemistry-Introduction-Malcolm-Stevens/dp/0195124448/ref=zg_bs_16052541_6

have you seen this book? it seems like it might fit my organic background better, and people say it has good exercise problems

The nanofield is currently dominated by doctors so you may have to get a PHD. Still the field will see steady growth for decades to come. There is tons of room for innovation and growth in the quantum rhelm.

On the subject of pchem, knowing the concepts and ideas are vital. Nano materials are heavily dominated by kenetics - controlling how a nanotube grows is vital to a good end product. You probably won't need a photographic memory of all those equations from pchem, but you will need to have a good grasp of the concepts.

My advisor taught a class in nanomaterials (and was heavily involved in the field) and if you want to look at a book that will give you a grasp of what you are in for check it out:
http://www.amazon.com/Nanostructures-Nanomaterials-Synthesis-Properties-Applications/dp/1860944809

If you're interested in learning a bit more about mechanisms specifically, which can be very relevant to understanding protein functions in a biological setting, a favorite of mine is "The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms" (https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Reasonable-Organic-Reaction-Mechanisms/dp/1441930167, http://jpkc.huanghuai.edu.cn/include/htmleditor/uploadfile/20130309151535265001.pdf) It has straightforward explanations of the basics in understanding many of the core concepts relevant to mechanisms and is a popular read for undergrads and grads alike. Each chapter has exercises at the end and the answer key is free online (http://www.springer.com/us/book/9780387954684).

I have this series of books and a pretty heady technical manual if you want to borrow them for some light reading. I'm assuming you want to build bicycle frames and components. Let me know if you have any questions about layups or molding.

I also remember WITC had a composites materials program that they closed due to lack of interest. The industry is not really here and probably will never be without some huge gains in technology. The cure times are much shorter at higher altitude like in Colorado(+4000ft), it doesn't make sense for actual production of parts here (830ft).

There are also primers for Physical and Organic chemistry, which are probably a pretty good starting point.

Someone in /r/chemistry recommended this book and I've found it to be a huge help: The Art of Writing Reasonable Reaction Mechanisms. (You can find a PDF online if you look.)

For pleasure:

• The Disappearing Spoon
  
• Periodic Tales
  
• Stuff Matters
  
• Molecules of Murder
  
• The Elements of Murder
  
• The Elements
  
• Molecules
  
• Molecules that Changed the World
  
• The Chemistry Book
  
  Undergraduate
  
  
• Organic:
  Organic Chemistry as a Second Language, The art of writing reasonable organic reaction mechanisms
  
  
• Inorganic: Inorganic Chemistry, Molecular Symmetry and Group Theory
  
  
• Analytical: Principles of Instrumental Anlsysis, Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry
  
  Graduate
  
  
• Organic: Advanced Practical Organic Chemistry, March's Advanced Organic Chemistry, Greene's Protective Groups in Organic Synthesis, Purification of Laboratory Chemicals, Strategic Applications of Named Reactions in Organic Synthesis
  
• Inorganic: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry

So it's alright to have such a large number of monomers? I remember reading somewhere that the longest polymer chain is only around 1,000,000 units, is this wrong or am I remembering?

Also is this book good for someone with basic chemistry background?

https://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Physics-Chemistry-M-Rubinstein/dp/019852059X

My background is in a different field (mechanical engineering) so I never really dealt with chemistry topics like this (besides in general chemistry)

I'm an organic chemist, not polymer, but i read:
http://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Chemistry-Introduction-Malcolm-Stevens/dp/0195124448
and learned quite a lot. Probably not as in depth as Anslyn is to Phys. Org., but its good

I am a big fan of this book and recommend it to students.

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Reasonable-Organic-Reaction-Mechanisms/dp/0387954686

Polymer Physics by Michael Rubinstein is my go to for basic polymer anything. Its chapters on networks and gels are a good introduction.

Fair warning though: Oxford's page binding methods are awful. I've seen 4 or 5 of these textbooks, 2-3 years old each, with pages falling out everywhere. But the subject matter is great!

3rd step would not be concerted. Although I understand lack of proton transfers for simplicity's sake, and you mention that there are several potential inaccuracies... but the general idea is there. Much applaud, better living through mechanisms.

The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms by Grossman.

Organic Chemistry: An Intermediate Text by Hoffman is also good as a text between what you learned in undergrad and things you might expect to see in grad school.

The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms is a must read for any synthetic in the field.

The Art of Writing Reasonable Organic Reaction Mechanisms by Robert Grossman (Kentucky).

Go buy Mill by David Macaulay. It will answer most if not all of your questions complete with illustrations.

https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Reasonable-Organic-Reaction-Mechanisms/dp/1441930167/ref=pd_aw_sim_14_1/135-1535025-9628323?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1441930167&pd_rd_r=453c65be-b889-4384-b46f-e98e11cd6e5b&pd_rd_w=x9wLO&pd_rd_wg=wXmLA&pf_rd_p=dfdb1da3-5e85-40b8-aca6-1f16b6aad03b&pf_rd_r=HJG1TWYEPDTYGYR5PY75&psc=1&refRID=HJG1TWYEPDTYGYR5PY75

I think I used this textbook when I took my first polymer course:
https://www.amazon.com/Polymer-Chemistry-Introduction-Malcolm-Stevens/dp/0195124448/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478092564&sr=8-2&keywords=polymer+chemistry

I used Odian in grad school but found myself going back to the Stevens book every once in a while for more clarification.