[ifafnir]

Hey, I am a high school student who always was pretty horrible at chemistry, and by chance of fate I am somehow partaking in a Chemistry Research and Experiment project at a University. Will be needing to write research papers and do experiments etc, but I am still really horrible in chemistry, so I would like some recommendations for materials to study, as I just looked at a couple of research papers and am currently freaking out.

I mainly need materials on Photopolymer Chemistry, such as photoinitiators, photopolymers, the basics and process of photopolymerization etc. Feel free to recommend anything related, as I do have lots of time to read up, though I sincerely prefer video lectures and the like over books.

My current biggest few issues would be
1. How to identify polymerization and cross-linking, ie; what visible changes/tests am I expected to see,
2. What is happening on the atomic scale, ie; what is the interaction and bondings that is occuring.

Any help would be much appreciated, Thanks!

[orgopete]

This is what I think. Realistically, they aren't going to expect you to know about polymers and polymerization. They will train you in the kind of experiments you will be performing.

If you want to know more, the you could look at any of the organic chemistry texts available. I think that is probably too much to expect though. You could just look at a chapter on radical reactions. That would be a good starting point.