Polymer reactors and molecular weight distribution. VII. Further development of gel permeation chromatography

Abstract

The results of an investigation into molecular weight and resolution calibration of a gel permeation chromatograph are reported. Effects of sample amounts and solvent flow rate were observed. Severe skewing and tailing of the standard chromatograms were observed at 2.0 ml/min flow rate, relative to 1.0 and 3.0 ml/min. Resolution calibration by flow reversal was inadequate when skewing and tailing or sample impurity effects were significant. Differential molecular weight distributions (MWD) of broad‐distribution polystyrenes were compared for four methods of resolution correction. Inconsistent oscillations were observed in the MWD's at low resolutions and higher molecular weights. None of the methods was completely adequate in accounting for skewing and tailing.