When GPC is hyphenated with MALS (GPC-MALS), it overcomes the challenge of unknown hydrodynamic volume.
GPC / SEC
Gel Permeation Chromatography is a valuable universal technical that offers many benefits:
• Short analysis time
• Well defined separation
• Narrow bands and good sensitivity
• Little to no sample loss
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Organic Polymer Analysis and Characterization
Polymer testing is a crucial step in quality control
While RI and UV can be stand along detectors, they are most efficient at evaluating the composition when used together, since RI measures the deflection of a light beam from the difference in the refractive index between pure solvent and solvent with sample.
Differential Refractive Index (RI) and UV Absorbance (UV)
When GPC is hyphenated with MALS (GPC-MALS), it overcomes the challenge of unknown hydrodynamic volume. Special procedures must be taken if the sample absorbs or if the sample fluoresces with excitation at the wavelength of the laser (663.1 nm).
Multi-Angle Light Scattering Detection (MALS)
The most common way to determine average molecular weight is through gel permeation chromatography (GPC). GPC is also referred to gel filtration, or size exclusion chromatography (SEC). GPC is a type of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography.
Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC)
Parts per quadrillion purity standards
Experience is necessary
Brewer Science conducts polymer analysis and characterization as a fundamental step in quality assurance and control (QA/QC). With over 40 years of experience in the semiconductor market, and surpassing quality expectations of ISO 1900:2015, Brewer Science offers polymer analysis and characterization services, along with other analytical and testing services, to elevate the standards of quality in the industry, thus paving a future of innovation and collaborative development.
Polymer analysis is critical for the QA/AC in material selection, especially in microelectronics where the smallest defect could render a device useless. Brewer Science is working towards a parts per quadrillion purity, which requires a thorough understanding of the materials used in each of our products. To ensure the proper selection, each material goes through a process called fingerprinting, which evaluates the materials raw characterization – taking a careful look at the polymers it’s comprised. This process is one of the three key steps in our Zero Defects Program. It's a strategic step any company can take in a proactive approach to defect reduction in the supply chain.
Determining average molecular weight crucial
Background
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Polymer Analysis is a necessary quality control measure, needed by anyone within the supply chain serving microelectronics
PLACEHOLDER,
PLACEHOLDER, Brewer Science, Inc.
Polymer analysis and characterization is one of most critical things a manufacturing company can do to ensure the device will function as intended. Polymer analysis is the process of understanding chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties of an organic polymeric material. Characterization of those findings is crucial in determining whether the solution will provide a satisfactory outcome for the end-user or supply chain partner.
Since there are many different methods of polymer analysis and characterization, its important that person, or company, performing the analytical tests has extensive experience in performing analytical testing specific to the industry you serve. Industry knowledge is necessary in understanding relationships between proposed materials, structure, and chemical composition of the system
Methods of Analysis
Brewer Science can measure and report impurities with a part-per-trillion ion detection capability. With four decades of serving very diverse technical customers, we provide analytical testing services to elevate standards across the industry.
8,000
A successful polymer analysis and characterization will provide an accurate molecular weight, polydispersity index, and polymer conformation.
1 milion
Successfully characterizing and examining polymers requires several different analytical techniques. Since each one has it's own unique benefits, a throughout understanding of the application is needed.
Classifying
Characterizing polymers by weight is the first step in analysis. It's important to choose the appropriate weight measurement method.
Key Takeaways
GPC-MALS
GPC is a very valuable universal technique that offers many benefits, including:
• Short analysis time
• Well defined separation
• Narrow bands and good sensitivity
• Little to no sample loss
GPC-MALS offers an absolute method, which enables the determination of:
• Molar Molar mass, M
• Size, rg or RMS radius (mass averaged distance of each point in a molecule from the molecule's center of gravity, lower limit 10nm).
• Second virial coefficient (mol ml)/g2, a measure of solute-solvent interaction.
• Translational diffusion coefficient, Dt
A common application of RI in GPC is to analyze samples that lack strong chromophores in ultraviolet (UV) light.
While RI and UV can be stand along detectors, they are most efficient at evaluating the composition when used together
GPC-RI/UV
Determine Molecular Weight
Before you can evaluate characteristics of a polymer, such as mechanical strength, solubility, and brittleness, you must first determine the length of the polymer chain. Chain length is typically expressed in terms of the molecular weight of the polymer chain, relative to the molecular mass of the monomers and the number of monomers connected in the chain. Since not all the chains are the same length (referred to as polydisperse), the molecular weight is expressed as an average molecular weight from all chains in that sample.
A basic overview of our analytical testing capabilities
Scroll over the box to reveal the benefits of each method
Brewer Science conducts polymer analysis and characterization as a fundamental step in quality assurance and control (QA/QC). With over 40 years of experience in the semiconductor market, and surpassing quality expectations of ISO 1900:2015, Brewer Science offers polymer analysis and characterization services, along with other analytical and testing services, to elevate the standards of quality in the industry, thus paving a future of innovation and collaborative development.
Polymer analysis is critical for the QA/AC in material selection, especially in microelectronics where the smallest defect could render a device useless. Brewer Science is working towards a parts per quadrillion purity, which requires a thorough understanding of the materials used in each of our products. To ensure the proper selection, each material goes through a process called fingerprinting, which evaluates the materials raw characterization – taking a careful look at the polymers it’s comprised. This process is one of the three key steps in our Zero Defects Program. It's a strategic step any company can take in a proactive approach to defect reduction in the supply chain.
Experience is necessary
Parts per quadrillion purity standards
Brewer Science conducts polymer analysis and characterization as a fundamental step in quality assurance and control (QA/QC). With over 40 years of experience in the semiconductor market, and surpassing quality expectations of ISO 1900:2015, Brewer Science offers polymer analysis and characterization services, along with other analytical and testing services, to elevate the standards of quality in the industry, thus paving a future of innovation and collaborative development.
Polymer analysis is critical for the QA/AC in material selection, especially in microelectronics where the smallest defect could render a device useless. Brewer Science is working towards a parts per quadrillion purity, which requires a thorough understanding of the materials used in each of our products. To ensure the proper selection, each material goes through a process called fingerprinting, which evaluates the materials raw characterization – taking a careful look at the polymers it’s comprised. This process is one of the three key steps in our Zero Defects Program. It's a strategic step any company can take in a proactive approach to defect reduction in the supply chain.
Experience is necessary
Parts per quadrillion purity standards
To have a holistic approach to characterizing polymers, weight is not a stand-alone indication of how the polymer will perform with other materials. Therefore, other characterizations such as light scattering, mass, and element composition are necessary.
Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS)
Other Methods of characterizing polymers
Dynamic light scattering accounts for the size distribution of molecules by measuring the time-dependent fluctuations in the scattered light intensity which allows the determination of the translational diffusion coefficients, known as Brownian motion. The Brownian motion depends on the particle size, solution viscosity, temperature, and particle density
Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry is an analytical chemistry technique that combines the physical separation capabilities of liquid chromatography with the mass analysis capabilities of mass spectrometry. Mass spectrometry is an analytical tool useful for measuring the mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of ions.
Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS)
Nuclear magnetic resonance is a technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. The sample is placed in a magnetic field and the NMR signal is produced by excitation of the nuclei sample with radio waves into nuclear magnetic resonance, which is detected with sensitive radio receivers. The intramolecular magnetic field around an atom in a molecule changes the resonance frequency, thus giving access to details of the electronic structure of a molecule and its individual functional groups.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR)
Organic Elemental Analysis measures carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen within a sample.
Organic Elemental Analysis (OEA)
Polymer analysis enables insight into characteristics to determine if proposed materials will result in a desired effect. A successful polymer analysis and characterization will provide you with three key outcomes to help you understand the characteristics of the material:
The best controlled synthetic polymers (narrow polymers used for calibrations) have Mw/Mn of 1.02 to 1.10. Step polymerization reactions typically yield values of Mw/Mn of around 2.0, whereas chain reactions yield Mw/Mn values between 1.5 and 20.
Expectations of a successful polymer analysis and characterization
Accurate molecular weight (MW)
The numerical value of PDI ranges from 0.0 (for a perfectly uniform sample with respect to the particle size) to 1.0 (for a highly polydisperse sample with multiple particle size populations). Values of 0.2 and below are most deemed acceptable in practice for polymer-based nanoparticle materials
Polydispersity index (PDI)
Polymer conformation is the ability of monomers within a polymer chain to rotate about a single bond and this alters the shape, size and features of the polymer as a whole. Polymer conformation is prevented by numerous factors such as temperature of the polymer, size/properties of various chain groups, and the inherent properties of the material.
Polymer conformation
Brewer Science offers a complete line of analytical and application testing services, specializing in semiconductor and other high-technology products, through materials characterization and contaminant reduction.
With over 40 years of experience in chemical analysis and semiconductor application testing, put Brewer Science's experience and world-class equipment to work.
State-of-the-art instruments, combined with our analysts' knowledge, experience, and skills, enables our advanced material characterization capabilities. We can not only measure the purity of materials, but report on the impurities with a part-per-trillion ion detection capability. With four decades of serving very diverse technical customers, we understand the importance of taking a specialized approach to each customers’ needs. Please contact us to explore which analytical testing methods are best best suited for your application.
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