Polymer refractive index, determination

The amount of polymer adsorbed on each sample was measured by pressure filtration through a 0.1 m filter, followed by analysis of the filtrate for residual polymer by gel permeation chromatography with refractive index determination. Particle zeta potentials were measured by taking a small sample of the solids from the centrifuge and re-suspending them in the supernatant prior to analysis in a Malvern Instruments Zetasizer . The concentration of all other types of ions in the supernatant was analysed by ICP atomic emission spectroscopy. 

Figure 5. Absorbance Spectrum of Lexan Polycarbonate Used for Refractive Index Determinations. The polymer was dispersed in a KBr disc at ca 5 wt % ...

Values of dn/dc have a nearly linear dependence on solvent refractive index, so that if values are not available in the solvent to be used it can also be determined by extrapolation from other solvent systems. If the polymer refractive index and the partial specific volume of the polymer in the solvent Vp are known, then dn/dc can be estimated by the Gladstone-Dale rule (2),... 

Solution Polymers. Acryflc solution polymers are usually characterized by their composition, solids content, viscosity, molecular weight, glass-transition temperature, and solvent. The compositions of acryflc polymers are most readily determined by physicochemical methods such as spectroscopy, pyrolytic gas—liquid chromatography, and refractive index measurements (97,158). The solids content of acryflc polymers is determined by dilution followed by solvent evaporation to constant weight. Viscosities are most conveniently determined with a Brookfield viscometer, molecular weight by intrinsic viscosity (158), and glass-transition temperature by calorimetry. 

In general, the multiphasic heterogenous nature of the impact grade styrene-based polymers is the root cause of their opaque-turbid nature. In determining the transparency of the blends, size and the size-distribution pattern of the dispersed phase along with the refractive index difference between the continuous and the dispersed phases are two very important criterion [133]. 

Mixed solvents are generally unsatisfactory for use in the determination of polymer molecular weights owing to the likelihood of selective absorption of one of the solvent components by the polymer coil. The excess of polarizabilit f of the polymer particle (polymer plus occluded solvent) is not then equal to the difference between the polarizabilities of the polymer and the solvent mixture. For this reason the refractive increment dn/dc which would be required for calculation of K, or of i7, cannot be assumed to equal the observed change in refractive index of the medium as a whole when polymer is added to it, unless the refractive indexes of the solvent components happen to be the same. The size Vmay, however, be measured in a mixed solvent, since only the dissymmetry ratio is required for this purpose. 

OS 61] ]R 20] ]P 44] The polymer molecular-weight distribution of a static mixer-based processing, which was determined both by UV and refractive index analysis. 

Special care has to be taken if the polymer is only soluble in a solvent mixture or if a certain property, e.g., a definite value of the second virial coefficient, needs to be adjusted by adding another solvent. In this case the analysis is complicated due to the different refractive indices of the solvent components [32]. In case of a binary solvent mixture we find, that formally Equation (42) is still valid. The refractive index increment needs to be replaced by an increment accounting for a complex formation of the polymer and the solvent mixture, when one of the solvents adsorbs preferentially on the polymer. Instead of measuring the true molar mass Mw the apparent molar mass Mapp is measured. How large the difference is depends on the difference between the refractive index increments ([dn/dc) — (dn/dc)A>0. (dn/dc)fl is the increment determined in the mixed solvents in osmotic equilibrium, while (dn/dc)A0 is determined for infinite dilution of the polymer in solvent A. For clarity we omitted the fixed parameters such as temperature, T, and pressure, p. 

---