Complex molecular structures occur in various natural and synthetic materials. From common plastics like polyethylene to proteins like hemoglobin, the significant effect of the molecular structure of these materials on their properties cannot be understated. Hence, it is fundamental to comprehensively characterize these complex structures. In the case of polyethylene, branching plays a significant role in determining its structure-property relationships.
Various characterization techniques are available to measure the branch content in polyethylene. Qualitative techniques based on gel permeation chromatography and rheology; and absolute measurements from nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy are commonly used to estimate branch content. Drawbacks posed by these common techniques have been well documented in literature. Further, these techniques are unable to provide a comprehensive picture of the structural topology of polyethylene which is crucial to understanding the structure-property relationships of these systems.
In this dissertation, a novel scaling approach is described to quantify branching in polyethylene. The approach is useful in quantifying both short-chain and long-chain branch contents in polyethylene. Additionally, unique measurements such as average long-chain branch length and hyperbranch (branch-on-branch) content are available through this approach. Such enhanced topological information can help us better understand the effect of catalyst systems on the structure of polyethylene as well as the effect of branching on the polymer’s physical properties.
The scaling approach was successful in quantifying the structure of variety of model and commercial branched polyethylene systems. Specific examples of high-density and linear low-density polyethylene as well as hydrogenated polybutadienes are discussed here. The dissertation is intended to standardize and corroborate the scaling approach in quantifying the structure of branched polymers. The scaling model described in this dissertation is universal. For instance, it can be adapted to quantify the structure of other complex structures such as ceramic aggregates, cyclic polymers and to quantify the degree of folding in protein molecules.