M E M O R A N D U M

TO: Executive Board of the Division of Polymer chemistry (POLY)

FROM: Edward (Ted) S. Wilks

SUBJECT: Nomenclature Committee's Report

DATE: August 11th, 2000

The Nomenclature Committee membership remains essentially unchanged since the last meeting, which was held on Monday, March 27th, 1999. The "call for new members" advertisement, placed on the POLY website, http://www.chem.umr.edu/~poly/nomenclature.html, has elicited no further inquiries in the last 12 months. Nevertheless, the ACS POLYmer Division Nomenclature Committee proposes to leave it on the website.

A Items from the IUPAC Meeting in Warsaw (July, 2000)

A1. Meeting of Journal Editors (July 10, 2000)

Macromolecular Nomenclature Notes No. 18 (MNN 18), entitled "SRUs: Using the Rules", was published in Volume 41(1) of Polymer Preprints (SRU = Structural Repeating Unit). The problem of so many structure-based representations being wrongly drawn in current books, encyclopedias, and especially journals, which was discussed in MNN 18, was addressed at a special Journal Editors meeting in Warsaw. The problem is simple: CAS rules and IUPAC recommendations, which were drafted 25 years ago, are largely ignored by authors of articles and papers on polymers. This meeting was called by Bob Gilbert (president of the IUPAC Macromolecular Division) in response to this problem. Editors of European and US polymer journals were invited to the meeting in the hope that these problems could be addressed. Virtually all of the editors present were vehemently opposed to either trying to get authors of papers on polymers to follow the CAS rules and IUPAC recommendations, or to making corrections themselves. They feel that it is not their responsibility to correct incorrect names or structure representations of polymers. They argued that any attempts to coerce authors to use correct nomenclature, i.e. to force them to use systematic nomenclature, will be ignored. Trivial names, e.g. polystyrene, are intrenched, and no one will never use the corresponding systematic name poly(1-phenylethylene). The IUPAC Nomenclature Commission members pointed out that they were more concerned about incorrect structures than use of trivial or semi-systematic names, but at this point the editors were close to walking out of the meeting. Kaz Horie then suggested an excellent compromise:

  1. IUPAC will make its recommendations (which are the same as the CAS rules) web-available at the IUPAC website (www.iupac.org) in an easy-to-follow document that will give readers clear instructions for most polymers. For readers who have more complex polymers, a note will be added that help is available by contacting someone [e.g. the CAS help desk or any member of IUPAC Commission IV.1 (names will be listed)].
  2. On their "instructions for authors" sent to authors, journal editors will add a strong recommendation that all authors should use correct CAS or IUPAC nomenclature and correct structure-based representations in papers submitted, and these may be found at url www.iupac.org/ [subdirectory to be decided later]. (See Item A3 below for the IUPAC response to this.)

A2. Presentation of Paper at MACRO-2000, Warsaw, July, 2000

Ted Wilks presented a paper entitled "CRUs: Following the Rules". This was the European version of MNN 18 (CRU = Constitutional Repeating Unit, the IUPAC equivalent of SRU). Ten people attended the presentation.

A3. Web Version of MNN 18

In connection with item A1, Ted Wilks will create a Web Version of MNN 18. This will be an English-language, web-based version of the IUPAC recommendations (which are the same as CAS rules) for correct identification, orientation, and naming of CRUs/SRUs. This will be made available on the IUPAC website (www.iupac.org). Hopefully, a "hot link" (cross-reference) to this document will be added to the POLY website. This will be a "do-it-yourself" mini-manual that gives readers step-by-step instructions for most polymers. It will be easier to follow than MNN 18, which is both discussion and presentation of the CAS rules and IUPAC recommendations. Information will be included on where to go for help for difficult examples. This item has high priority, and implementation before the end of 2000 is planned.

A4. Other IUPAC Matters

Four Committee members (Fox, Metanomski, Wilks, and Work) continue to contribute to projects of the IUPAC Commission on Macromolecular Nomenclature, although Fox and Metanomski are enjoying "semi-retirement" in that they now act mainly as consultants. Topics in various stages of development, for which they are directly responsible, include:

Project 29/97 made progress, and the differences between the Fox approach and the DuPont approach [Schultz (consultant), Wilks] have been reconciled.

Project 33/99 was shortened and simplified; suggestions for further minor modifications were made at the Warsaw meeting, and these will be inplemented in the next revision.

Project 35/2000 was also shortened and simplified, and it was decided to exclude knots because too few have been reported as yet for a definitive nomenclature system to be created - hence the modified title.

 

B Promulgation of Correct Polymer Nomenclature and Structure-Based Representations

This broad subject, discussed in MNN 18, continues to draw interest. The original article, published in Polymer Preprints, 2000, 41(1), 6a-11a, has been translated into Hungarian and is currently undergoing final review by a Hungarian scientist in Budapest before publication in Müanyag és Gumi (Rubber and Plastics), a prominent Hungarian polymer journal. The English-language version will also be published in Macromol. Chem. Phys. in Germany by courtesy of Dr. Ingrid Meisel, a IUPAC Commission IV.1 member who works for Wiley-VCH (publishing company).

Additionally, Wilks is currently negotiating for MNN 18 to be translated into:

Chinese (Mandarin), courtesy Prof. Jiasong He*

Japanese, courtesy Prof. Kaz Horie*

Korean, courtesy Prof. Choon Do

Polish, courtesy Prof. Osman Akhmatowicz*

Portuguese (for Brazilian readers), courtesy Dr. David Tabak*

Spanish (for Central/South American readers), courtesy Prof. Javier Macossay**, and

Russian, courtesy Prof. Valery Shibaev*.

* IUPAC Commission IV.1 member

**ACS POLYmer Division Nomenclature Committee member

MNN 18 will be published in both English and Russian versions in Vysokomolekulyarnye Soedineniya; scientific journals for publication of the translated versions in other non-English languages will be selected later. Earlier negotiations for translation into Turkish and subsequent publication in a Turkish polymer journal are stalled because of lack of response from Turkish correspondents. Prof. Yusuf Yağc¹, a key person in these negotiations, is currently working in Germany; negotiations will resume upon his return to Turkey later this year.

Promulgation of MNN 18 will proceed along one of two paths:

  1. The translated versions of MNN 18 will be published in as many non-English language polymer journals as possible, and they will also be made web-available***. Brief "non-English language advertisements" in as many polymer journals as possible will then be published from time to time that direct interested readers to the article in their language at the website.
  2. For Central and South America, where there are no journals devoted exclusively to polymers, the Spanish-language version of MNN 18 will be made web-available***, and brief "non-English language advertisements" in as many journals as possible will be published from time to time that direct interested readers to the article in their language at the website.

***Web availability for MNN 18 in English and non-English languages will be provided by Dr. Frank Blum (University of Missouri - Rolla), who runs the POLY website; for MNN 1 through 18 and a list of publications containing valid recommendations on macromolecular terminology and nomenclature, see http://www.chem.umr.edu/~poly/nomenclature.html.

 

C Published Paper on Polymer Nomenclature

At the invitation of Prof. Otto Vogl, Wilks wrote an extensive paper entitled "Polymer Nomenclature: The Controversy Between Source-Based And Structure-Based Representations (A Personal Perspective)"; this was published in the first copy of Progress in Polymer Science to issue in 2000.

 

D Other Matters

The Committee continues to promote polymer-nomenclature recommendations, especially those of the IUPAC Commission on Macromolecular Nomenclature (Commission IV.1). The Committee monitors how the macromolecular nomenclature matters are explained and discussed in various textbooks and handbooks, and offers suggestions for improvements. Individual questions from POLY members and requests to help in the naming of polymers are answered promptly.