Huggins equation
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The Huggins Equation is an empirical equation used to relate the reduced viscosity of a dilute polymer solution to the concentration of the polymer in solution. It is named after Maurice L. Huggins. The Huggins equation states:
Where is the specific viscosity of a solution at a given concentration of a polymer in solution, is the intrinsic viscosity of the solution, is the Huggins coefficient, and is the concentration of the polymer in solution.[1] In isolation, is the specific viscosity of a solution at a given concentration.
The Huggins equation is valid when is much smaller than 1, indicating that it is a dilute solution.[2] The Huggins coefficient used in this equation is an indicator of the strength of a solvent. The coefficient typically ranges from about (for strong solvents) to (for poor solvents).[3]
The Huggins equation is a useful tool because it can be used to determine the intrinsic viscosity, , from experimental data by plotting versus the concentration of the solution, .[4][5]