Our research objective is to develop a laboratory exercise utilizing a gas permeation chromatography (GPC) instrument. GPC separates and quantizes polymer chains, relative to a standard, based on their size. The laboratory procedure we develop will facilitate students’ understanding of polymer chemistry by instructing them to A. first synthesize polymer chains of varying lengths and then B. analyze polymer chains based on their molecular weight distribution. The data collected will be reported with a graphical visualization of dispersity (D), weight average molecular weight (Mw), number average molecular weight (Mn), and asymmetry factors (As).

GPC Analysis of styrene polymerization using various initiators for undergraduate polymer laboratory

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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