Table of contents

The application of mass-spectrometry to the study of the decomposition kinetics and mechanisms of solids is discussed. Different designs of equipment and experimental procedures for studying the kinetics and the mechanism of the primary and the secondary processes in the decomposition of solids are described, and their relative advantages are analysed. Conditions likely to clarify specific aspects of universal importance to the decomposition of solids are formulated, and the advantages of dynamic mass-spectrometry in this type of study are stressed. The most important results of mass-spectrometric experiments on the kinetics and mechanism of the decomposition of solids are reviewed, including the thermal decomposition of inorganic solids, high-temperature reactions involved in the decomposition of solid propellants, the thermal and mechanical degradation of polymers, and other illustrations of the possibilities of the method. 73 references.

Information on the preparation of poly(arylenealkyls) by polycondensations and on their chemical reactions is surveyed. The chemical reactions of poly(arylenealkyls) can lead to the preparation of materials and products interesting in practical and theoretical respects. There are 75 references.

The literature data and the studies by the authors of the review on biologically active organosilicon compounds are reviewed. The role of silicon in living organisms, the toxicity and biological activity of its organic derivatives, and the therapeutic applications of its compounds are discussed. The bibliography includes 358 references.

The degree of branching of polymeric chains is one of the most important molecular parameters which determine the physicomechanical and technological properties of the polymers. The results of theoretical calculations of the influence of the degree of branching on the dimensions and nydrodynamic properties of the macromolecules are surveyed. The experimental results from the study of the properties and methods of synthesis of various model branched polymers are systematised. The problem of the molecular weight distribution of branched polymers and also experimental methods of determining the degree of branching of mono- and polydisperse polymers are considered briefly. The bibliography includes 82 references

The literature on the formation of hydrazides of αβ-unsaturated acids and also five-membered heterocyclic compounds in the interaction of hydrazine and its mono- and di-alkyl-substituted hydrazines with derivatives of saturated monobasic acids is reviewed. The properties and applications of these compounds are described. The bibliography includes 97 references.

This review deals with the role of associated complexes in the condensation and crystallisation of metals from their vapours. The presence in the metal vapour of polyatomic complexes (whether originally present or formed above the evaporation surface) is shown to have a significant influence on the initial condensation step on a solid surface or in an inert carrier gas. The mechanism of formation of highly disperse aerosol metal particles is discussed in detail. Some aspects of crystal and film growth from the vapour are briefly mentioned. 288 references.

The modern state of thin-layer chromatography in its application to proteins, nucleic acids, and their derivatives is discussed. Thin-layer chromatography is a new technique in chromatographic analysis which has vigorously developed in recent years. In the review the inadequate development of the thin-layer chromatography of proteins compared, for example, with that of low-molecular-weight compounds is noted and the causes of this situation are analysed. Thin-layer chromatography is compared with other chromatographic methods and the studies on the thin-layer chromatography of biopolymers and their derivatives published up to the present time are critically assessed. New techniques in the thin-layer chromatography of proteins published recently are described. The bibliography includes 97 references.