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]
^Alger, Mark (1996). Polymer science dictionary (2nd ed.). London: Chapman & Hall. p. 249. ISBN0412608707.
^Young, Robert J.; Lovell, Peter A. (1991), "Introduction", Introduction to Polymers, Springer US, pp. 1–14, doi:10.1007/978-1-4899-3176-4_1 (inactive 2024-09-27), ISBN9780412306402{{citation}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2024 (link)
^Seidel, Arza (2008). Characterization analysis of polymers. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Interscience. p. 687. ISBN978-0-470-23300-9.
^Cowie, John M. G. (2008). Polymers : chemistry and physics of modern materials. Taylor & Francis. ISBN978-0849398131. OCLC610115193.