| Abstract: | The molecular weight distribution of fractionated and unfractionated polystyrene samples has been determined by temperature drop turbidimetry, in which polymer is precipitated from dilute solutions in cyclohexanol by progressively cooling from 388 to 310 K. Estimates of the molecular weight averages and the polydispersities, obtained by calibration of the temperature of initial onset of precipitation, Ti, and the weight-average molecular weight were low, but could be substantially improved by correcting for concentration changes during precipitation. An empirical procedure correlating the breadth of turbidity-temperature curves to the logarithm of the polydispersity, as measured by gel permeation chromatography, appeared to be a simpler method of characterizing the polymer samples and as accurate as the computational methods above. |
