Performance of a Gel Permeation Chromatograph and its Usefulness in Examining Mixtures of Organic Materials

Abstract : As part of a programme of assessing the molecular properties of organic materials of defence interest, the performance of a locally designed gel permeation chromatograph fitted with a refractive index (R.I.) detector and an evaporative analyser (E.A.) detector has been examined. It was found that with the R.I. detector the performance is similar to that of other instruments. The resoponse of the E.A. detector was found to depend on a number of operating conditions in an unforeseen manner which limits the usefulness of this detector. However, molecular weight distributions determined with the E.A. detector showed good agreement with the R.I. results. Using the two detectors simultaneously, a study has been made of a complex mixture of epoxy resins (an aircraft adhesive) and it has been shown that information relevant to the performance of advanced organic materials can be provided by such studies. (Author)