Temperature-Responsive Polymers

Chapter 7Small‐Angle X‐ray and Neutron Scattering of Temperature‐Responsive Polymers in Solutions

Sergey K. Filippov Martin Hruby and Petr Stepanek

Department of Supramolecular Polymer Systems, Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry AS CR, 162 06 Prague, Czech Republic

7.1 Introduction

Polymers in solution have been studied by the small‐angle X‐ray and neutron scattering (SAXS/SANS) techniques for more than 50 years [1]. The number of publications on that topic was quite low due to very low scattering of polymer solutions measured by in‐house small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) setups with Cu anode. Situation changed after construction of synchrotrons and powerful scientific fission reactors and when the number of research papers on temperature‐responsive polymers boosted [2]. SAXS/SANS methods have several significant advantages in comparison with light scattering techniques such as dynamic light scattering (DLS) or static light scattering (SLS). The most important feature of SAXS/SANS methods is that they probe much smaller distances, usually 1–100 nm, which not only allows studying a conformation of macromolecules but also can analyze different parts of macromolecules or polymeric nanoparticles using a contrast variation method. Such features provide a powerful tool to monitor conformational changes of temperature‐responsive polymers caused by changing of temperature.

Here we will give a brief and simple introduction to small‐angle scattering (SAS) experiment. For those who are interested ...