Use of narrow and broad molecular-weight distribution standards to calibrate the gel permeation chromatograph

Abstract

A critical evaluation of common methods of column of column calibration in gel permeation chromatography is reported for a range of well characterised polymer standards. Of those methods based on the polystyrene standards, namely the Q factor method and the universal calibration method, the latter is shown to be more accurate over a wide range of molecular weights and polymer types. The universal calibration method, in which secondary standards with broad molecular-weight distributions are used to define the parameters of the universal calibration curve, is also shown to be superior to methods in which the calibration curve is attained directly from the secondary standards.