The highly advanced polymerization techniques developed in the natural and synthetic resin industries have created a strong demand, not only for general identification of polymeric substances, but for the characterization of the newer stereoregular polymers. Although the gross ir spectral features of a particular polymer are mostly attributable to its functional groups, there are often many small but significant spectral differences which are associated with different structural arrangements that can exist within the polymer. Thus, in a number of cases the subtle spectral differences can be correlated with molecular configurations and used as evidence for various structures.
