Sponsored by Wyatt TechnologyJun 10 2021
Polyurethane is a common polymer which can sometimes be challenging to analyze. Polyurethanes are utilized particularly in rigid and flexible foams, elastomers and resins. Their performance characteristics are highly dependent on their molecular weight properties.
Usually, polyurethanes are analyzed by utilizing gel-permeation chromatography (GPC, or size-exclusion chromatography, SEC) with extensive column calibration and polymer standards.
In addition to being tedious, column calibration means that the resulting answers will not be absolute, only relative. Results will be reliant on the assumption that the reference standards have the same density, conformation, and column interactions as the analyte of interest.