The Molecular Weights of Rubber and Related Materials. V. The Interpretation of Molecular Weight Measurements on High Polymers
Abstract Unless an ultracentrifuge is available, absolute molecular weight determinations must be based ultimately on osmotic data. Viscosity measurements furnish a convenient method of interpolation, and give reliable results for homogeneous linear polymers. The viscosity molecular-weight of a typical unfractionated polymer would not be very seriously in error unless the polymer were extensively branched. No reliable conclusions about molecular-weight distribution can be drawn from molecular-weight data alone without carrying out a fractionation, although a useful guide to the homogeneity of a polymer known to be of linear structure is furnished by the ratio of the viscosity and osmotic molecular weights.