A study of the molecular dimensions of fractions of high pressure polyethylene

✍ Scribed by Schuurmans, H. J. L.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1962
• Weight: 595 KB
• Volume: 57
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-3832
• DOI: 10.1002/pol.1962.1205716544

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A sample of high pressure polyethylene was fractionated and subsequently characterized by means of osmometry, light scattering, and viscometry. The molecular weight distributions of the fractions as calculated by means of the numerical approximation method of Beall were compared with those obtained from the osmometry and light‐scattering experiments. Also a comparison was made between the molecular dimensions calculated respectively from light‐scattering data, viscometry, and second virial coefficients. It is shown that an application of current theories to the data gives vastly different values for the molecular dimensions depending on what measurements are taken as a starting point. For calculations on the branching, it appears necessary to take into consideration the difference in the width of the molecular weight distribution of the branched polymer and the linear polymer with which it is compared.