The modified layout of the barrier method called liquid chromatography under limiting conditions of enthalpic interactions is presented. It enables automated quantitative separation of blends of synthetic polymers, for example the single step discrimination of both parent homopolymers from the block copolymers. Moreover, this method enables the estimation of molar mass and molar mass distribution of the block copolymer precursor. Adjacent large sequences of mobile phase of different composition are applied as barriers. They are created by a computer controlled pair of pumping systems in the form of longitudinal profiles along the column. The home synthesized block copolymers polystyrene-block-poly(2-vinylpyridine) served as model examples of the method application. The adsorption retention mechanism was exploited using mesoporous bare silica gel column packing. Series of block copolymers of similar composition can be quickly handled with the method to optimize their synthesis.

Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry Czech Academy of Sciences Heyrovského nám 2 162 06 Prague 6 Czech Republic

Polymer Institute Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava 84541 Slovakia

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Modeling the Phase Equilibria of Associating Polymers in Porous Media with Respect to Chromatographic Applications