Abstract
High-temperature thermal gradient interaction chromatography (HT-TGIC) can be used to measure the chemical composition distribution (CCD) of semi-crystalline and amorphous polyolefins. HT-TGIC extends the range of polyolefin chemical compositions that can be measured today with crystallization-based techniques. Hypercarb (R) columns packed with porous graphitic carbon are commonly used as the stationary phase in HT-TGIC fractionation. We used a set of ethylene/1-octene copolymers having different comonomer fractions (up to 25% of 1-octene) and approximately the same molecular weight average to investigate how commercial Hypercarb (R) columns with distinct lengths and particle sizes affected HT-TGIC fractionation. Binary copolymer blends were also analyzed to study how different blend compositions affected HT-TGIC peak positions and shapes.