Relative viscosity refers to the ratio of the viscosity of a polymer solution to the viscosity of the solvent. This can be expressed as:
Where ηrel is the relative viscosity, η is the solution viscosity and η0 is the solvent viscosity. Relative viscosity expresses the capacity of a polymer to increase the viscosity of a solution. Inherent, specific, reduced, absolute and intrinsic viscosities are all calculated using relative viscosity.
- Determines reduced, inherent, intrinsic, dynamic and specific viscosities of polymers
- Useful as a quality control parameter for polymers
