Issue 23, 2018

Polymer nanoparticle sizes from dynamic light scattering and size exclusion chromatography: the case study of polysilanes

Abstract

Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) are among the most popular methods for determining polymer sizes in solution. Taking dendritic and network polysilanes as a group of least soluble polymer substances, we critically compare and discuss the difference between nanoparticle sizes, obtained by DLS and SEC. Polymer nanoparticles are typically in poor solution conditions below the theta point and are therefore in the globular conformation. The determination of particle sizes in the presence of attractive interactions is not a trivial task. The only possibility to measure, aggregation-free, the true molecular size of polymer nanoparticles in such a solution regime, is to perform the experiment with a dilute solution of globules (below the theta point and above the miscibility line). Based on the results of our polysilane measurements, we come to a conclusion that DLS provides more reliable results than SEC for dilute solutions of globules. General implications for the size measurements of polymer nanoparticles in solution are discussed.

Graphical abstract: Polymer nanoparticle sizes from dynamic light scattering and size exclusion chromatography: the case study of polysilanes

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
16 Apr 2018
Accepted
15 May 2018
First published
16 May 2018

Soft Matter, 2018,14, 4735-4740

Polymer nanoparticle sizes from dynamic light scattering and size exclusion chromatography: the case study of polysilanes

A. Badasyan, A. Mavrič, I. Kralj Cigić, T. Bencik and M. Valant, Soft Matter, 2018, 14, 4735 DOI: 10.1039/C8SM00780B

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