Determination of the width of a narrow molecular weight distribution by gel-permeation chromatography

A recycle gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) method for extrapolating to infinite resolution is proposed. From the GPC calibration curve, the extrapolated elution peak width volume can be converted into peak width in decades of molecular weight. For an essentially Gaussian distribution, the weight-average/number-average molecular weight ratio can be determined from a calculated conversion table.