In the late 1960s, IUPAC formally established the Commission on Macromolecular Nomenclature (Commission IV.1), which has since become the leading nomenclature body in the polymer field; it is now superseded by the Subcommittee on Macromolecular Terminolgy. This group promulgates rules and definitions on polymer terminology and nomenclature. In 2001, the Commission became a Subcommittee of the Polymer Division and it continues to work on nomenclature in collaboration with the Chemical Nomenclature and Structure Representation Division (VIII) .
The Subcommittee (sic Commission) has developed rules for naming regular, single-strand organic and inorganic macromolecules, copolymer molecules, irregular macromolecules, ladder and spiro macromolecules, and nonlinear and network macromolecules. It has developed rules for representing the structures of macromolecules. It also works to standardize the terminology used in polymer science and has developed definitions for the basic terms dealing with polymer molecules, assemblies of polymer molecules and non-linear macromolecules, polymer solutions, polymer crystals, types of polymerization, and the degradation and aging, and mechanical behavior.
Since its beginning, this group has attracted the participation of a number of scientists from academia, the publishing industry, and the polymer industry.
> View History of the Macromolecular Nomenclature and Terminology in IUPAC, including membership and references of the original publications.