Analysis of copolymers of styrene and methyl methacrylate using size exclusion chromatography with multiple detection

Abstract

Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with differential refractive index (RI), multiangle light scattering (MALS) and UV detectors has been used to obtain information about copolymers of styrene (S) and methyl methacrylate (MMA). Homopolymers PS and PMMA having broad molecular weight distributions, mixtures of PS and PMMA homopolymers, and copolymers containing different weight fractions of S and MMA units were studied. Molecular weight distributions, molecular dimensions and scaling laws are reported for these systems. The behavior of the random copolymers is very different from that exhibited by the heterogeneous mixtures of homopolymers. Thus, the results obtained for the copolymers can be explained by assuming that these molecules have homogeneous distributions of S and MMA units along their chains. On the contrary, the mixtures produce the results that would be expected from heterogeneous combinations of different molecules. The SEC technique offers the possibility of determining the composition of random copolymers and discriminating among random copolymers (having homogeneous distributions of units) and block copolymers.