SUPERMOLECULAR STRUCTURES IN POLYMER-SOLUTIONS INTERPRETATION OF STATIC LIGHT-SCATTERING DATA

The characterization of supermolecular structures in polymer solutions by static light scattering requires an improved analysis of the scattering curves. A comparison of the experimental curves with model calculations for various basic structure types in a scaled plot offers the possibility to extend the range of a reliable determination of the structural parameters to particle sizes up to 500 nm. The influence of the polydispersity and problems of an unambiguous interpretation are discussed. Especially, a. closed analytical expression for the scattering function of polydisperse systems of spheres with a Schulz-Zimm distribution of radii was derived.