Evaluation of a Gas Chromatographic Method for the Determination of Glass Transitions in Polymers

Determination of glass temperature of polymers by inverse gas chromatography

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) is an attractive technique for polymer characterization due to possible simultaneous determination of various physicochemical properties of polymer systems merely from retention times of selected sorbates. The technique is especially advantageous to polymers that cannot be characterized by conventional methods. In this review, the utilization of the method for glass transition determination of homopolymers, copolymers and polymer blends is described. Advantages and drawbacks of the IGC method over traditionally used methods for glass transition temperature determination is discussed, along with the most important parameters that influence the precision and accuracy of the glass transition temperature (T(g)) measurements.

The phase behaviour of poly(styrene-co-methacrylic acid)/poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) by inverse gas chromatography

The miscibility behaviour of blends of poly(styrene-co-methacrylic acide) (PSMA-12) containing 12% of methacrylic acid with poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) at five different compositions has been studied by inverse gas chromatography (IGC). The adequacy of two types of solvents (solvents and precipitants) has been tested in order to detect the glass transition temperature, T(g). A single T(g) has been observed in PSMA-12/PPO blends containing less than 67wt% of PPO. Two glass transition temperatures appeared, however, in blends containing higher PPO content. The polymer-polymer interaction parameters have been calculated in the molten state (260-280 degrees C), their values being in good agreement with the observed phase behaviour. Moreover, the methods proposed by Farooque-Deshpande and Huang for obtaining the true polymer-polymer interaction parameters have been compared. Finally, the ability of IGC in order to determine T(g)s has been extended to a ternary system, PSMA-12/PPO/EMV4P-8 poly(ethylmethacrylate-co-4-vinylpyridine) which, depending on the composition, gives a single, two and even three T(g)s.

Determination of the minimum allowable operating temperature of stationary phases in capillary columns by inverse gas chromatography

A method was developed to determine the minimum allowable operating temperature (MiAOT) of wall coated open tubular capillary columns. Two polyethylene glycol and fourteen polysiloxanes phases with different side groups (methyl, phenyl, cyanopropyl, trifluoropropyl, n-octyl) and backbone stiffening units (tetramethyl-p-silphenylene, tetramethyl-p,p'-sildiphenylene ether, carborane) were investigated by inverse gas chromatography. A sigmoidal profile of temperature versus column efficiency was found for almost all phases, as the column efficiency increased with temperature. The MiAOT was defined as that temperature where the column efficiency is half of its original value at elevated temperatures. It was found that the MiAOT of a stationary phase is approx. 60 K higher than its glass transition temperature.