The hydrodynamic volume concept can be used effectively with gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) and viscosity data to estimate the molecular weight of a variety of polymers. In this work, the Mark-Houwink coefficients (alpha and K) for the poly(p-acetoxystyrene) homopolymers (PASt) were determined by correlating their weight average molecular weight (<IMG SRC="/img/revistas/po/v14n2/21574s1.gif">) values, determined by gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) relative to polystyrene standards, with their measured intrinsic viscosity values ([<IMG SRC="/img/revistas/po/v14n2/21574s3.gif">]). The <IMG SRC="/img/revistas/po/v14n2/21574s2.gif">of any unknown PASt sample may be estimated by first measuring the sample's intrinsic viscosity, and then applying these alpha and K values with the Mark-Houwink equation.
Intrinsic viscosity; molar mass; p-acetoxystyrene; synthesis
