Fractionation and Size Distribution of Water Soluble Polymers by Flow Field-Flow Fractionation

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Abstract
Flow field-flow fractionation (flow FFF) is introduced as a chromatographic-like method with a potential for separating and characterizing water soluble polymers. The theory of the method is summarized, showing that one gets a size distribution curve based on the Stokes diameter, d. Problems in interpreting the elution profile in both flow FFF and gel permeation chromatography are discussed in the light of complications arising from electrostatic chain expansion in polyelectrolytes. The experimental approach is described using a channel of 2.00 ml volume. Sulfonated polystyrenes of three different molecular weights are separated from one another with and without added salts. The dependence of retention on sample size is shown to be least in the salt solution, indicating that this is most suitable for analytical work. The sodium salts of polyacrylic acid are also investigated. Distinct elution profiles are noted for two of these polydisperse polymers. Size distribution curves for the 2,000,000 MW sample curves are obtained from, the elution profiles and are shown to be independent of experimental variations. Finally, fractions are collected after separation and rerun through the coloumn, showing a reasonable confirmation of the expected fractionation effect.