Search results for "scatter"
showing 10 items of 8475 documents
Dynamics-based assessment of nanoscopic polymer-network mesh structures and their defects.
2018
Polymer-network gels often exhibit complex nanoscopic architectures. First, the polymer-network mesh topology on scales of 1–10 nm is usually not uniform and regular, but disordered and irregular. Second, on top of that, many swollen polymer networks display spatial inhomogeneity of their polymer segmental density and crosslinking density on scales of 10–100 nm. This multi-scale structural complexity affects the permeability, mechanical strength, and optical clarity of the polymer gels, which is of central relevance for their performance in popular applications. As a result, there is a need to characterize the polymer network structures on multiple scales. On the scale of the spatial inhomo…
Mesoscopic gel at low agarose concentration in water: a dynamic light scattering study
1995
Previous work in our laboratory has shown that at very low agarose concentration in water gelation still occurs within mutually disconnected, high concentration regions generated by spinodal demixing. The freely diffusing particles obtained in these conditions are studied in the present work by depolarized dynamic light scattering and probe diffusion experiments. These particles are found to behave as large (in fact, mesoscopic) polymer fibers entangled in a continuously rearranged mesh with scaling parameters typical of partially flexible, neutral chains. The present results allow specifying the notion of mesoscopic gelation. They also reveal that the same symmetry-breaking mechanism that …
Origin of the low-frequency plateau and the light-scattering slow mode in semidilute poly(ethylene glycol) solutions
2019
A low-frequency plateau is often found in the rheological spectra of various kinds of semidilute solutions of polymers and other colloids; also, many such solutions have been reported to show slow-modes in their dynamic light scattering autocorrelation functions. Both these observations may lead to the hypothesis of weak associative network structures built by the dissolved polymer chains or colloidal building blocks. To challenge this hypothesis, we conduct a series of comparative studies on semidilute solutions of poly(ethylene glycol) by using classical rheology as well as passive microrheology based on dynamic light scattering, along with structural studies using static light scattering…
Polyelectrolytes in dilute solution: viscometric access to coil dimensions and salt effects
2015
Copolymers of acrylamide (AM) and diallyldimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC), differing in molar masses M (52.3 to 227 kDa) and degrees of charging y (0.2 to 0.6), were studied with respect to their viscometric behavior in dilute aqueous solutions containing variable amounts of NaCl. Complementary measurements were performed on a Brookhaven 90 plus particle size analyzer. M dominates the intrinsic viscosities [η]. For the viscometric interaction parameters B this is only true for large concentrations of extra salt. [η] and B as a function of solvent salinity follow Boltzmann laws. Coil dimensions, determined either via dynamic light scattering or viscometry, agree well. For low salt contents…
Chain Stiffness of Elastin-Like Polypeptides
2010
The hydrodynamic radii of a series of genetically engineered monodisperse elastin like polypeptides (ELP) was determined by dynamic light scattering in aqueous solution as function of molar mass. Utilizing the known theoretical expression for the hydrodynamic radius of wormlike chains, the Kuhn statistical segment length was determined to be lk = 2.1 nm, assuming that the length of the peptide repeat unit was b = 0.365 nm, a value derived for a coiled conformation of ELP. The resulting chain stiffness is significantly larger than previously reported by force-distance curve analysis (lk < 0.4 nm). The possible occurrence of superstructures, such as hairpins or helices, would reduce the conto…
Star poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)s-synthesis and thermosensitivity
2011
A series of star-shaped poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)s was prepared by cationic polymerization. The polymerization was initiated by dipentaerythrityl hexakis(4-nitrobenzene sulfonate) and a tosylated hyperbranched polymer of glycidol. The polymerization proceeded in a controlled manner. The star structure of the products was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance. The molar mass distributions that were measured by gel permeation chromatography with multiangle laser light scattering were narrow, and the experimental values of the molar masses were close to those predicted. The very compact structure of the polymers obtained (compared with the linear counterparts) confirmed the star formation. …
Highly Defined, Colloid‐Like Ionic Clusters in Solution
2012
Many societal challenges at the beginning of the 21st century lead to an apparent and growing need for functional materials and novel ways of materials synthesis and assembly. Rising to the challenge, the utilization of small, self-assembling building blocks for the bottom-up construction of new types of polymers and nanostructures has enjoyed increasing popularity among materials researchers in the recent past. Supramolecular materials like foldamers, surface films, nanoparticles, etc. are created by exploiting noncovalent forces [1] leading to an ordered arrangement of nanoscale building blocks. [2] In the search for new polymers based on noncovalent molecular forces, we are motivated by …
Porphyrin-Polymer Networks, Worms, and Nanorods: pH-triggerable Hierarchical Self-assembly
2011
In this study, we present a novel, multifaceted pH-triggerable system of self-organized hierarchical nanostructures. The system consists of meso-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS) and poly(2-vinylpyridine) cylindrical brushes (PVP brushes) and can yield polymer-porphyrin networks, porphyrin loaded polymer brushes and pure porphyrin nanorods. In addition, the polymer influences the pK(a) and the mutual TPPS stacking geometry. Structures were characterized by AFM, dynamic light scattering using an IR laser, UV-Vis spectroscopy and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). Supramolecular composite porphyrin structures that can be switched through external triggers have potential in photo…
Functionalized halloysite multivalent glycocluster as a new drug delivery system.
2020
A new design for halloysite nanotube materials was obtained by grafting chemically modified cyclodextrin units onto the nanotube surface. In particular, grafted cyclodextrins were decorated with thiosaccharide pendants, in order to mimic the well-known binding of sugars to proteins and the glyco-cluster effect occurring during cellular recognition events. The obtained materials were characterized by using a combination of varied techniques (FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, turbidimetry), and their potential drug-delivery abilities were tested by studying their interactions with the common naturally occurring anticancer a…
Neutron scattering characterization of homopolymers and graft-copolymer micelles in supercritical carbon dioxide
1996
Abstract Superficial fluids (SCF) are becoming an attractive alternative to the liquid solvents traditionally used as polymerization media [1]. As the synthesis proceeds, a wide range of colloidal aggregates form, but there has hitherto been no way to measure such structures directly. We have applied small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) to characterize such systems, and although SCF polymerizations are carried out at high pressures, the penetrating power of the neutron beam means that typical cell windows are virtually transparent. Systems studied include polymers soluble in CO 2 such as poly(1,1-dihydroperfluorooctyl acrylate) (PFOA), poly(hexafluoropropylene oxide) (PHFPO) and poly(dimet…