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Critical phenomena and polymer coil‐to‐globule transition
Author(s) -
Chu B.,
Xu R.,
Wang Z.,
Zuo J.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of applied crystallography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.429
H-Index - 162
ISSN - 1600-5767
DOI - 10.1107/s0021889888000767
Subject(s) - radius of gyration , small angle x ray scattering , scattering , small angle scattering , polymer , small angle neutron scattering , materials science , neutron scattering , chemical physics , phase transition , biological small angle scattering , dewetting , multiangle light scattering , light scattering , condensed matter physics , chemistry , optics , nanotechnology , physics , composite material , thin film
Small‐angle scattering techniques including laser light scattering (LLS), small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) and small‐angle neutron scattering (SANS) have been useful tools to measure the static and dynamic properties (in terms of critical fluctuations) of fluids, fluid mixtures, polymer and micellar solutions, polymer blends and metallic alloys. A brief review is given of recent results in critical‐phenomena experiments using small‐angle scattering techniques. Topics of current interest are pointed out, and a guide to the vast literature on critical opalescence is provided. Coil‐to‐globule transition in polymer solutions has been a classic experimental challenge over the past decade. In order to succeed in reaching the collapsed regime, it becomes important to realize that single coil contraction of a linear polymer molecule in solution takes place in the neighborhood of phase separations. By using the recent development of a small‐angle light‐scattering spectrometer and by taking advantage of a successful polymer fractionation experiment, the transition behavior of linear polystyrene in cyclohexane from the Θ state to the collapsed regime can be characterized based on both the radius of gyration and the hydrodynamic radius.