Importance of molecular weight

Polymer scientists are well aware of the importance of molecular weight distribution and have learned to precisely measure and control it. This enables us to control many important... 

Allen, P. W., G. Ayrey, F. M. Merrett and C. G. Moore The use of [C14]-labelled initiators in determining the termination reaction in methyl methacrylate free radical polymerization the importance of molecular weight measurements. J. Polymer Sci. 22, 549 (1956). 

The importance of molecular weight distribution in studies of polymerization, polymer processing and the physical and mechanical properties of polymers creates a need for mathematical description of the distribution. Several models are commonly used (Flory [1], Schulz-Zimm... 

The factors which determine the amount of transfer in the high friction regime have not yet been established. Wi ch P.T.F.E., Tanaka suggests that it is the band structure that is important dost suggests that it is the crystallite size. Other workers have noted the importance of molecular weight j . The subject merits a detailed study. 

Before we can explore how reactor conditions can be chosen, we require some measure of reactor performance. For polymerization reactors, the most important measure of performance is the distribution of molecular weights in the polymer product. The distribution of molecular weights dictates the mechanical properties of the polymer. For other types of reactors, three important parameters are used to describe their performance ... 

A second family is based on isobutene polymers (PIB) having molecular weights from 600 to 2000 that are equally important raw materials for detergent additives. So as to render them reactive with the hydrophilic part, they can be chlorinated or condensed with the maleic anhydride. A third way is based on the utilization of polypropylphenols of molecular weights between 600 and 3000. 

In Chaps. 5 and 6 we shall examine the distribution of molecular weights for condensation and addition polymerizations in some detail. For the present, our only concern is how such a distribution of molecular weights is described. The standard parameters used for this purpose are the mean and standard deviation of the distribution. Although these are well-known quantities, many students are familiar with them only as results provided by a calculator. Since statistical considerations play an important role in several aspects of polymer chemistry, it is appropriate to digress into a brief examination of the statistical way of describing a distribution. 

Oxidation. AH polyamides are susceptible to oxidation. This involves the initial formation of a free radical on the carbon alpha to the NH group, which reacts to form a peroxy radical with subsequent chain reactions leading to chain scission and yellowing. As soon as molten nylon is exposed to air it starts to discolor and continues to oxidize until it is cooled to below 60°C. It is important, therefore, to minimize the exposure of hot nylon to air to avoid discoloration or loss of molecular weight. Similarly, nylon parts exposed to high temperature in air lose their properties with time as a result of oxidation. This process can be minimized by using material containing stabilizer additives. 

There are three basic time scales in the reptation model [49]. The first time Te Ml, describes the Rouse relaxation time between entanglements of molecular weight Me and is a local characteristic of the wriggling motion. The second time Tro M, describes the propagation of wriggle motions along the contour of the chain and is related to the Rouse relaxation time of the whole chain. The important... 

A veiy important consequence of the latter equation is that when A. = 1, there exists a critical value of molecular weight M = M for which p = Pc and we obtain the relation between Mg and Me as... 

As with resoles, the central issue in design of novolacs is molecular weight. The effects of formaldehyde-to-phenol molar ratio and formaldehyde conversion on molecular weight of novolacs has been well studied and reported [192,193]. The effects of molecular weight on most of the important properties are also available [193]. These include Tg, melt viscosity, gel time, hot-plate flow, glass-plate flow. 

Quality assurance for size exclusion supports is based primarily on the reproducibility of molecular weight calibrations. Although the reproducibility of the exclusion and inclusion limits is important, the distribution coefficients (Ko) of included standards are a better indication of duplication. Table 10.3 (page 314) shows such data for the SynChropak GPC and CATSEC supports. 

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