Techniques for Making Coated Capillary and Packed Columns for Analysis of Polymer-Solvent Systems Using Inverse Gas Chromatography
Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) is a useful and multifaceted tool in studying polymer-solvent systems. However, the commercially available chromatography columns can be quite expensive. The purpose of this project was to develop methods for making coated capillary and packed columns for use with IGC. The outlined methods save both time and money, while allowing for versatility in column characteristics. Coated capillary columns were made using a static coating technique. A polystyrene solution was made, and then the column was filled, plugged, and evacuated. Packed columns were made by filling a section of copper tubing with polymer beads, while using intermittent vibration to settle the packing. This type of packing has not been used previously for IGC studies. The capillary column was evaluated by making scanning electron micrographs of the coating and by using the column to measure the diffusion and partition coefficients of toluene on the coated polystyrene. The results indicated the film was uniform and showed good correlation with data gathered from commercially available columns. For the packed column, only limited data have been gathered. Preliminary results indicate the use of polymer beads as column packing may be a viable method for the study of polymer-solvent systems.