HPLC of synthetic polymers characterization of polystyrenes by high performance precipitation liquid chromatography (HPPLC)

Summary The advantages and disadvantages of high performance precipitation liquid chromatography have been demonstrated for polystyrene homopolymers. Depending on the mobile phase composition at the dissolution point of the polymeric sample and surface properties of the stationary phase, elution is governed either by a solution process or by adsorption. A contribution by adsorption was noticed on silica as well as on reversed phases based on silica with a normal phase gradient of increasing polarity (heptane to dichloromethane). Elution was solely governed by solubility of the polymers on both types of stationary phase for polystyrenes with a molecular weight above 35 000 and reversed phase gradient of decreasing polarity (methanol to dichloromethane). Under these conditions an identical dependence of elution solvent composition on sample size was found as for turbidity titrations. Due to differences in the velocity of the eluent front and the polymeric sample with porous stationary phases the polymers can be eluted as colloidal solutions Non-porous stationary phases are superior in this respect because the velocities of eluent and solutes are identical.     

Thermal stability and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis of epoxy thermosets possessing N,N′-disubstituted pyromellitimide units

Abstract

In this work, three epoxy resins including diglycidyl ethers of N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)pyromellitimide (DIDGE), bisphenol-A (BADGE), and polyethylene glycol (PEDGE) were isothermally cured by an amine curing agent possessing N,N′-disubstituted pyromellitimide units (denoted by DIDAM). DIDGE resin was synthesized from the reaction of N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)pyromellitimide with an excess of epichlorohydrin. Also, DIDAM curing agent was prepared from the reaction of pyromellitic dianhydride with an excess of ethylene diamine. Completion of the isothermal curing processes was approved by both Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and non-isothermal differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The DSC traces showed only the phase transitions related to the thermal degradation of the resulting thermosets. According to the thermogravimetric analyses, the DIDGE/DIDAM thermoset showed higher thermal stability at temperatures above 425?°C than the other two thermosets. While BADGE/DIDAM and PEDGE/DIDAM thermosets showed about 70% weight loss in the thermal range of 400–850?°C, DIDGE/DIDAM thermoset was encountered with only about 40% weight loss. The glass transition temperatures (T_g ) of the resulting thermosets were determined using tan δ vs temperature plots obtained from dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. The T_g values of BADGE/DIDAM, DIDGE/DIDAM, and PEDGE/DIDAM thermosets were found to be 211?°C, 189?°C, and 81?°C, respectively.