Copolymer characterization by liquid chromatography under limiting conditions of adsorption and solubility

Limiting conditions of adsorption and solubility have been identified and used to characterize random poly(styrene-co-methyl methacrylate)s according to their chemical composition. In particular, a shift in copolymer retention volume, under limiting conditions and in a pure solvent, can be used as a metric of copolymer composition yielding calibration curves over the full range of styrene levels. Liquid chromatography under limiting conditions of adsorption (LC LCA) has advantages over limiting conditions of solubility (LC LCS) due to a reduced peak broadening and the large number of limiting conditions of adsorption already identified. LC LCA can, therefore, be coupled with SEC for the simultaneous identification of copolymer composition and molecular weight distributions.