AN1307: Cellulose/DMAC Molecular Weight Distributions

Unmodified cellulose can be dissolved in dimethyl acetamide (DMAC) with LiCl added. There is a problem, though, in characterizing it without reference to column calibration standards that typically do not have the same conformation as cellulose and therefore do not provide accurate calibration curves.

Absolute characterization is performed by combining multi-angle light scattering with size exclusion chromatography (SEC-MALS) to determine molar mass, independently of elution standards.