New Interface for GPC-FTIR Characterization of Polymers

Polymer Laboratories has launched a new interface to couple high temperature gel permeation chromatography (HTGPC) with FTIR spectroscopy enabling the rapid determination of compositional heterogeneity and its relationship to molecular weight from a single measurement. Interfacing chromatographic methods to other analytical techniques can significantly increase the amount of information for polymer characterization. PL's HTGPC-FTIR interface features a low dead volume heated FTIR flow cell, heated transfer line and temperature control module for both the cell and line. The interface is specifically designed for use with the PerkinElmerTM Spectrum One FTIR spectrometer and may be interfaced with any GPC instrumentation.

When used in conjunction with PL's CirrusTM GPC-FTIR SCB software, the PL HTGPC-FTIR interface provides a rapid method of determining short chain branching (SCB) in polyolefin copolymers, which can be readily mapped as a function of molecular weight distribution. Both these parameters can be determined from one measurement, under typical analytical chromatographic conditions due to the excellent design characteristics of the cell.

Using a pioneering and novel analytical approach to SCB determination employing chemometrics, the CirrusTM GPC-FTIR SCB analysis software can be used to measure low levels of branching (>1 branch/1000 carbons) with a predicted certainty.

Quelle: Polymer Laboratories