Scattering from small colloidal particles in a semidilute polymer solution

TL;DR

This paper investigates how small colloidal particles in a semidilute polymer solution exhibit induced correlations due to polymer segment interactions, enabling determination of the polymer's correlation length via scattering experiments.

Contribution

It demonstrates the induced particle correlations caused by polymer segment interactions and provides a method to measure the polymer's correlation length from scattering data.

Findings

Particles behave as if attracted to each other in the presence of polymer

Polymer correlations induce measurable particle correlations

Polymer correlation length can be extracted from scattering experiments

Abstract

The correlations between the segments of a semidilute polymer solution are found to induce correlations in the positions of small particles added to the solution. Small means a diameter much less than the polymer's correlation length. In the presence of polymer the particles behave as if they attracted each other. It is shown how the polymer's correlation length may be determined from a scattering experiment performed on the spheres.