Derivation of the molecular weight distributions from size exclusion chromatography

Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) is one of the most used analytical methods in chemistry to determine the molecular weight distribution of macromolecules, including natural and synthetic polymers. With the advent of ‘living’ radical polymerization, Researchers now have the capability to produce polymers with a wide range of chemical compositions and architectures. In many cases, SEC is the only method available for analysis of the polymer. Here, we provide a derivation of the three molecular weight distributions from the raw concentration detector response data. The derivations are given in an easy to follow procedure. A method is derived to determine the molecular weight averages from the SEC data. A case study is then provided to demonstrate the insight that SEC can provide into the types of polymer species, and unlock mechanistic information from the SEC traces that may otherwise be overlooked