Chromatography of conjugated polymeric carbocations

The separation of a number of homo- and copolyarylenephthalides, which were converted into a colored ionized form, by adsorption chromatography using elution with 96% sulfuric acid was studied. A correlation between the color (degree of conjugation) and the adsorption ability of chromophore groups, which were formed upon the dissolution of the test compounds in H₂SO₄, was found: in the separation of a mixture of two polyarylenephthalides of the same type, a polymer whose chromophore group absorbs in the short-wave-length region of the spectrum was eluted first and the polyarylenephthalide with a deeper color was eluted next. The procedure developed allowed us to analyze the polymers in microgram amounts.