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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Phase-distribution chromatography (PDC) of polystyrene

subject

description

A chromatographic technique is described where the stationary phase is a layer of a very high molecular polystyrene fraction (M = 107) on glass beads (ballotines). The mobile phase is cyclohexane passing the column at a constant temperature below the theta-temperature. A polystyrene sample of sufficiently low molecular weight (M ≤ 106) injected as a small plug at the top of the column is fractionated because the distribution between the mobile and the stationary phase depends on the molecular weight. Since the large molecules preferentially remain in the stationary phase, the smaller molecules leave the column first. The fractionation effect is inverse to that found in GPC experiments. The separation efficiency is rather good and can be described by a simple thermodynamic theory.