Size Exclusion Chromatography (SEC) of Complex Polymers - Generalized Analytical Corrections for Imperfect Resolution

Herein is reported generalized analytical solutions which permit correction for imperfect resolution when the molecular weight calibration curve is nonlinear and the variance of single-species chromatograms changes significantly with molecular size of the polymer solute. Two kinds of generalized analytical solutions have been obtained. One is a solution of Tung's integral equation for the corrected chromatogram or the molecular weight distribution and the other is a solution for the corrected molecular weight averages of the whole polymer. Also discussed is the use of local corrections for imperfect resolution across the chromatogram with detectors such as the low angle laser light scattering spectrophotometer (LALLS) when used with micro and macropackings.