Structure-Molecular Weight Relationships of Synthetic Polymers

The molecular weight and molecular weight distribution, molecular size, intrinsic viscosity and structure all affect how a polymer material will behave. The most common tool used to investigate these aspects of synthetic polymers is gel permeation or size-exclusion chromatography (GPC/SEC). In this application note, the structural distributions of some common polymers are compared using the Mark-Houwink plot. The data are all generated using the Malvern OMNISEC system.