Application of flow and thermal field-flow fractionation for optimized separation of various polymer systems

In this application, it was demonstrated that SEC coupled to a light scattering detector is not sufficient for analyzing ultra-high molar mass or strongly branched polymer samples. A complete analysis of branched LDPE with HT-AF4 was shown and the correct separation was confirmed with NIST reference material. The high potential of thermal FFF was proved by separation of different mixtures of components with similar hydrodynamic volume but different composition. A combination of the size information from AF4 with the composition selective separation of TF3 may allow a HPLC-like analysis of e.g. co-polymer systems without the drawbacks of chromatographic methods in the near future.