Molecular weight distributions in free-radical polymerizations: their cause and cure

The average molecular weight and the molecular weight distribution are some of the most important determinants of the properties of a polymer product, strongly influencing properties such as mechanical strength, minimum film-forming temperature of a latex, and so on. Advances in theory have led to a novel but simple experimental means to obtain information about the events controlling these properties, by straightforward manipulation of the data obtained from conventional GPC. This has the potential to lead to new means of improving polymer products