THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURATE AND PRECISE MOLECULAR-WEIGHT MEASUREMENT IN PULSED-LASER POLYMERIZATION

Molecular weight distributions generated by pulsed-laser polymerizatio n have been determined experimentally using multi-detector size exclus ion chromatography (SEC). The conditions for accurate and precise SEC have been defined. The importance of the inter-detector delay (IDD) is stressed and two different methods of defining IDD are compared. In a ddition this work highlights the problems associated with the use of M ark-Houwink constants in constructing a universal calibration curve. S ome preliminary results obtained from matrix-assisted-laser-desorption -ionisation mass spectrometry are also presented.