Spreading function

{
  "id": "MLC-T-CHM-011250",
  "term": "Spreading function",
  "field": "Chemistry",
  "definition": "A mathematical function that describes the broadening of an initially sharp peak of a monodisperse solute as it passes through a chromatographic column. This function accounts for the combined effects of axial dispersion, mass transfer kinetics, and other instrumental factors that cause the elution profile to spread. In size-exclusion chromatography, the spreading function for a given polymer species is convoluted with the ideal chromatogram to produce the observed experimental curve.",
  "subject": "Polymer",
  "see_also": [
    "exclusion chromatography"
  ],
  "references": [
    "Purple Book, 1st ed., p. 69 (http://old.iupac.org/publications/books/author/metanomski.html)"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/chemistry/spreading-function/"
}