New development in polymeric materials characterization and modeling

Polymer-based materials, which possess outstanding chemical and mechanical properties and could be easily modified, have been widely used in a broad spectrum of applications, such as medical, electronic, pharmaceutical, and product packaging fields. It is indispensable to comprehensively understand the structural and physicochemical properties for a more versatile design and preparation of polymers with desired functionalities. Therefore, more advanced characterization techniques are essential in accelerating polymer science and technology innovations. In this chapter, recent advances on the polymer's characterizations based on spectroscopy, diffraction, and microscopy, are elaborated in detail. In addition, the discussion of computational work that is also crucial in modeling and guiding the design and preparation of polymer materials is comprehensively discussed. Finally, this chapter is concluded with the future direction of the characterizations and modeling of polymeric materials.