Determination of Copolymer Molecular Weight

Abstract

Abstract From this brief review it appears that determinations of molecular weight averages, of molecular weight distributions, and of compositional inhomogeneity of binary copolymers, require care in the choice of techniques and methods. Some of the most commonly used techniques for molecular weight determinations on homopolymers of various kinds are inadequate for the same determinations on copolymers. Others are more sensitive to fluctuations in composition than in molecular weights. Osmotic methods are the only one which are really insensitive to inhomogeneity, and which yield molecular weights. Ultracentrifugation in a density gradient yields precise information only on fluctuations in composition. Viscosity determinations require calibration, but even so, they may lead to erroneous values of the molecular weight in the case of copolymers. GPC is less sensitive to compositional heterogeneity, but cannot be applied for nonlinear copolymers. Finally, light scattering is a very powerful tool for studies on copolymers, since it leads to molecular weight averages and its helps characterize polydispersity and fluctuations in composition.