Polymers and rheology: A tale of give and take

Abstract

Polymers and rheology were both born in the twenties of the last century, fruit of the disruptive and creative scientific atmosphere of this decade. The development of polymer science and technology in the last almost 100 years has been colossal, whereas rheology has been able to create its own route as a branch of Physics. In this review paper we describe the interactions between both scientific areas, demonstrating that many of the crucial aspects for the progress of one of them owes to contribution of the other and viceversa. This interrelationship is shown through a historical survey of the principal milestones, starting from the correlation of the molecular weight with the intrinsic viscosity. A pondered analysis of the contributions of rheology to polymer science and technology, lead us to assert that the role of the former is rather founded on 50 years old discoveries.