Affiliation:
1. College of Chemistry Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Soochow University Suzhou Jiangsu 215127 China
Abstract
AbstractPolymer products typically present as mixtures with a range of molecular weights, which notably influence the expression of their properties. In this study, a technique is proposed to separate polyethylene glycol (PEG) mixtures of varying molecular weights using metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), thereby narrowing down their molecular weight distribution. Due to the hydrogen bond interactions between PEG and ‐OH groups in the pores of NU‐1000, NU‐1000 can selectively adsorb PEG with larger molecular weights from PEG mixture. This separation method consistently yields with narrower molecular weight distribution across multiple cycles. This is the first application of MOFs in regulating the dispersity (Ð) of polymers in solution, providing a novel approach for separating and purifying mixed molecular weight polymers.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China