Gradient high performance liquid chromatography of block copolymers of styrene andt-butyl methacrylate II. Association phenomena in mixtures of block copolymer with polystyrene

Summary

Block copolymers of styrene andt-butyl methacrylate can be analysed by methanol/tetrahydrofuran gradients on C18 or phenyl bonded phase columns. On both of these columns, retention increases with styrene content of the samples. At 50°C, the retention of PS or a block copolymer containing 45% styrene was longer on the phenyl than the C18 columns. This indicates the contribution of adsorption to retention on phenyl bonded phase columns. Lowering the temperature from 50 to 30°C caused earlier elution of part of the sample from the phenyl phase. On a C18 phase the same drop in temperature improved the shape of the peak, which also started later than at 50°C. This effect of temperature is generally observed in polymer retention due to an adsorption mechanism, whereas increasing retention with decrease in temperature is characteristic of a precipitation mechanism.

The block copolymer investigated contained 15% free polystyrene precursor which could not be separated from the block copolymer under the conditions employed. The addition of 20% PS homopolymer with a molecular weight similar to that of the styrene block in the copolymer showed that the polystyrene eluted together with the block copolymer, whereas the addition of PS homopolymer with a much higher molecular weight caused an extra peak at the expected elution time.