Polymer characterisation techniques

The chemical composition, including ionic character of the component monomers, can be determined using various standard chemical and instrumental analysis procedures such as GC-pyrolysis, IR and NMR spectroscopy, as well as elemental analysis techniques. 

Polyelectrolytes are renowned for their strong affinity for solid surfaces and the column packing material is no exception. Buffered electrolyte solutions are routinely used to prevent (or at least limit) these interactions as well as to suppress inter- and intra-molecular 

However, it should be noted that some ultra high molecular weight fidly soluble grades and cross-linked polymers of any physical form or chemical type are not suited to this procedure. 

Light scattering techniques provide absolute values for molar mass and so require no other polymer standard for calibration purposes. The molecular dimension causing scattering is related to the volume of the equivalent sphere occupied by a single polymer chain when present in solution as a random coil. 

Cross-linked polymers which exist in aqueous systems as micron or sub-micron-sized particles have characteristics which do not compare with those of soluble polymers. Any measurements made using light scattering techniques should not be used for comparative purposes between cross-linked and soluble polymers. 

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Foams 2000 Second International Conference on Thermoplastic Foam. Conference proceedings. Parsippany, N.J., 24th-25th October 2000, p. 139-48 USING POLYMER CHARACTERISATION TECHNIQUES TO PREDICT LDPE RESIN SUITABILITY FOR EXTRUDED FOAM APPLICATIONS Anger J Ngnyen L Nova Chemicals Corp. 

Robeson L M (2003) Gas permeability in polymer blends, in Polymer characterisation techniques and their application to blends (Ed. Simon G P) Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. pp. 288-312. 

P. W. AHen, Technique of Polymers Characterisation, Butterworths, London, 1959 Dilute Solution Properties of Acrylic andMethacylic Polymers, SP-160, Rohm and Haas Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 

P. W. Aden, Technique of Polymer Characterisation, Butterworths Scientific PubHcations, London, 1959. 

T. Provder, M. W. Urban, and H. G. Barth, eds.. Hyphenated Techniques in Polymer Characterisation Thermal-Spectroscopic and Other Methods, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 1994. 

This brief outline of the gradual solution of a crucial characterisation dilemma in polymer science could be repeated for other aspects of characterisation in polymer science, as in other parts of MSE, characterisation techniques and theories are crucial. 

Tong HM, Nguyen LT (eds) (1990) New characterisation techniques for thin polymer films, J Wiley, New York... 

This chapter is organised as follows Following this introduction as section 1, a brief description of the synthesis and characterisation techniques used for the as-synthesised polymer capped selenide nanopartides is given as section 2. In section 3, the mechanism of the reaction, results and discussion of the different selenide nanocomposites obtained using different polymers are given. Section 4, the last section gives a summary of the whole process, followed by references. Acknowledgements are cited before references. 

In order to understand polymer solution behaviour, the samples have to be characterised with respect to their molecular configuration, their molar mass and polydispersity, the polymer concentration and the shear rate. Classical techniques of polymer characterisation (light scattering, viscometry, ultracentrifugation, etc.) yield information on the solution structure and conformation of single macromolecules, as well as on the thermodynamic interactions with the solvent. In technical concentrations the behaviour of the dissolved polymer is more complicated because additional intramolecular and intermolecular interactions between polymer segments appear. 

R. A. Pethrick and J.V. Dawkins (eds), Modern Techniques for Polymer Characterisation, John Wiley Sons, Ltd, Chichester (1999). 

Table 4.45 shows the main features of SEC. This technique has become an indispensable tool for polymer characterisation. SEC has some advantages over other LC methods, such as the predictability of the end of a chromatographic run and of the retention times in a calibrated chromatographic system. SEC is an attractive technique for prefractionation or sample clean-up prior to a more sensitive RPLC technique. This intermediate step is especially interesting for experimental purposes whenever polymer matrix interference cannot be separated from the peak of interest [647]. Disadvantages are that the whole separation must be eluted within the... 

The polymer characteristics addressed within these clusters are presented below in Table 1. Table 1 presents an overview of the many analytical/ characterisation techniques and methods used for the molecular characterisation... 

As is evident in the many examples selected in this chapter to illustrate the molecular characterisation and analysis of polymer degradation and oxidation processes, almost, without exception, each study or investigation cited has involved use of more than one analytical method or characterisation technique, often many more than two. This clearly emphasises the importance of using a multi-technique approach to provide supportive, complementary and confirmatory information, since each technique or method yields a different aspect of the degradation/oxidation process in polymers. 

This chapter initially provides an overview of the considerations associated with the synthesis of inorganic polymers and the reasons why inorganic rings are so important as polymer precursors. The methods commonly used to characterise polymers are then discussed. As in Chapter 3, which describes the techniques used for the characterisation of inorganic rings, this section focuses on utility rather than on theoretical and practical details of the different methods. The reader is referred to a variety of texts for further details about these polymer structural characterisation techniques. ... 

Thermal analysis is a group of techniques in which a physical property of a substance is measured as a function of temperature when the sample is subjected to a controlled temperature program. Single techniques, such as thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), dielectric thermal analysis, etc., provide important information on the thermal behaviour of materials. However, for polymer characterisation, for instance in case of degradation, further analysis is required, particularly because all of the techniques listed above mainly describe materials only from a physical point of view. A hyphenated thermal analyser is a powerful tool to yield the much-needed additional chemical information. In this paper we will concentrate on simultaneous thermogravimetric techniques. 

CHARACTERISATION TECHNIQUES FOR CROSS-LINKED VINYL POLYMERS AND MIPS... 

King, S.M. Small angle neutron scattering. In Modern Techniques for Polymer Characterisation, Pethrick, R.A., Dawkins, J.V., Eds. John Wiley, 1999. 

Cambell, D. White, J. R. Polymer Characterisation Physical Techniques Chapman and Hall London 1989. 

Berry, G. C. Cotts, P. M. (1999) Static and dynamic light scattering, in Pethrick, R. A. Dawkins, J. V. (Eds.) Modem Techniques for Polymer Characterisation, Chichester John Wiley and Sons. 

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