https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510050954
Homogeneous and inhomogenous polyacrylamide gels as observed by small angle neutron scattering: A connection with elastic properties
1
Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA Saclay,
91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
2
Solid State Institute, Technion-Israel Institute
of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel
Corresponding author: a ssgilles@techunix.technion.ac.il
Received:
30
December
1997
Revised:
26
June
1998
Published online: 15 October 1999
Small angle neutron scattering of polyacrylamide solutions and gels is presented for different polymer and cross link concentrations. The gels are analyzed in connection with their elastic properties. For less than 11% of polymer concentration and for small cross link contents cx, it was found that the gels are no more heterogeneous than the solutions. This corresponds to the range of cx where the elastic modulus increases with cx. For larger cross link contents when the elastic modulus decreases if cx increases, the sample appears to be strongly heterogeneous with a large size distribution of the inhomogeneities. The results are compared with the recent model of Oshmyan and Benguigui of the elastic properties of the polyacrylamide gels. Thus a relation can be proposed between the observation of the inhomogeneities by scattering and the mechanical properties
PACS: 61.41.+e – Polymers, elastomers, and plastics / 61.12.-q – Neutron diffraction and scattering / 62.20.-x – Mechanical properties of solids
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 1999