ABSTRACT
The previous chapters on polymer characterization have been concerned with methods for determination of molar mass averages, molar mass distributions and molecular dimensions. In many instances, this information is all that is necessary to characterize a homopolymer when its method of preparation is known. However, for certain homopolymers (e.g. polypropylene, polyisoprene), knowledge of molecular microstructure is of crucial importance. Additionally, for a copolymer it is necessary to determine the chemical composition in terms of the mole or weight fractions of the different repeat units present. It is also desirable to determine the distribution of chemical composition amongst the different copolymer molecules that constitute the copolymer (e.g. using methods described in Section 14.3.5), and to determine the sequence distribution of the different repeat units in these molecules. Furthermore, when characterizing a sample of an unknown polymer, the first requirement is to identify the repeat unit(s) present. Thus, methods for determination of the chemical composition and molecular microstructure are of great importance.
