Measurement of particle size distribution in the discrete phase of high-impact polystyrene. I. Errors in direct coulter counter techniques

The published Coulter Counter method for measuring particle size distribution of the discrete phase in rubber-modified polystyrene is shown to be subject to serious limitations, especially when the data generated are used to compute discrete phase volume fractions. The source of error is time-dependent swelling of the particles in DMF which is used to isolate them from the polystyrene matrix for the counting operation.