Molecular weight is a critical chemical property, especially for polymers. Advanced laboratories have experienced staff and modern tools to determine the molecular weight of all types of compounds and polymers.
Depending on the sample material, the molecular weight is determined by various techniques. The molecular weight and molecular structure of small molecules can be determined using mass spectrometry. Using a direct infusion method, samples can be fed directly into the detector to confirm the molecular weight of a known material or to provide structural characterization of the unknown.
Molecular weight information of polymers is determined using techniques such as viscosity and size exclusion chromatography. To determine the molecular weights of polymers, it is necessary to understand the solubility of a particular polymer.
The properties of polymers and other macromolecules largely depend on their molecular weight. Molecular weight is measured using many different methods, including gel transmission chromatography, osmometry, light scattering, viscometers, cryoscopy, ultracentrifugation, mass spectrometry, and end-group analysis. However, these methods generally require high sample concentration, resulting in unreliable results for analytes with aggregation tendencies, such as conjugated polymers.
Among them, gel permeation chromatography is the most popular method, which is relatively simple and can process unpurified samples and measure the molecular weight distribution over a wide working range. This method measures the retention time that macromolecules experience as they pass through a column filled with porous beads. This time depends on the size and shape of the molecule.
Briefly, a number of methods are applied to experimentally determine the molecular weights of polymers. These include the measurement of both number average and weight average molecular weights. Solution viscosity is a very convenient, but not an absolute, method. It is also possible experimentally to separate the molecular lengths into fractions and thus to measure the molecular weight distribution.
Molecular weight determination methods are grouped as absolute, equivalent, or relative. Absolute methods allow calculating molecular weight directly from measured quantities, but knowledge of the physical and chemical structure of molecules is not required.
Our organization also provides testing services for molecular weight determination with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment, among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it provides for businesses in various sectors.
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