Abstract
The relationships between polymer conformational characteristics, i.e., unperturbed chain dimensions and their variation with temperature, and polymer structure are reviewed and critically discussed. Emphasis is placed on structure/conformation relationships for structurally well-defined polymethacrylates, polydienes, and polyolefins. Stiff chain polymers are also discussed. It is shown that conformational characteristics measured in bulk systems by small-angle neutron scattering are sometimes quite different than those measured for the same chains in theta solvents. Finally, relationships between parameters of chain flexibility and bulk properties, such as plateau modulus, molecular weight between entanglements, and tube diameter, are demonstrated.