Union college is one of a select group of small colleges which has been particularly successful in preparing undergraduates for graduate work in chemistry because of our strong curriculum and flourishing program for undergraduate research in chemistry. Polymer Chemistry, one of the more popular courses for undergraduates which also draws students from local industries, is a combination of organic and physical applications. This project replaces the out-moded instruments with new instrumenttion which is also used in organic and physical chemistry laboratories, and in senior thesis research. The upgraded equipment and its uses follow. Gel permeation average and a weight-average molecular weight for a given polymer sample. Osmotic pressure measurements give number-average molecular weights; vapor phase osometers are used for molecular weights below 25,000 and membrane osometers are used for samples with higher molecular weights. Thermal analysis (TGA) give important physical properties of polymers which are necessary to match a polymer to a particular industrial application. The institution is matching the award with an equal amount of funds.
