Applications of Lasers in Polymer Science

Dear Colleagues,

Polymers can be categorized mainly into two-kinds of compounds, synthetic and natural ones. The former includes industrially useful polymers such as fluorine-containing materials, versatile plastics such as polyethylene terephthalate and polymethyl methacrylate, and synthetic rubbers. Those polymers can be developed for daily necessities, compositions in industrial machines, and basic materials of semiconductors. The latter contains cellulose, lignin, chitin, chitosan, keratin, and natural rubbers. An important character of those polymers is a persistency, and recently, those non-degradable materials representative as microplastics have been getting attention as environmental pollution materials. Degradation and recycling of those persistent polymers are challenging and important subject that we should work on towards realizing sustainable society today.

Lasers are advanced devices for various usages in processing and degradation of not only hard materials but also soft matters, and for therapeutic technologies. In particular, free electron laser is developed as wavelength-tunable and high-power lasers from UV to far-infrared regions. Its use is widely ranged from the structural analysis of biological polymers to the processing tool for high-molecular weight solid materials.

In this Special Issue, application studies of lasers in the wide ranges for various polymers such as laser processing, laser ablation, laser therapy, physicochemical interaction of lasers with polymers, and laser degradations of biopolymers are welcome. Biological polymers such as proteins and carbohydrates are also targeted by lasers. 

Dr. Takayasu Kawasaki
Guest Editor

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