Synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering study on the conformation of polystyrene in compressed CO_2-toluene mixture

Synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was performed to investigate the effect of dissolved CO2 in toluene on the conformation of polystyrene (PS) in the solution. It has been found that the second virial coefficientA 2 and the radius of gyrationR g decrease with the increasing antisolvent CO2 pressure. The scattering intensity of PS chain followedI(h) ∞h ?α under different antisolvent pressures (0, 0.6, 1.5, 2.4, 3.3, and 4.2 MPa), suggesting that the PS chain has self-similar structure behavior or a fractal structure in the presence of antisolvent CO2. All this reveals a large effect of antisolvent pressure or the solubility of CO2 in the solution on PS structure. The fractal dimensions increase with the increasing antisolvent pressure, indicating that the polymer chain changes from a swollen coil into a rather dense globule in the course of adding antisolvent CO2.

Synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was performed to investigate the effect of dissolved CO2 in toluene on the conformation of polystyrene (PS) in the solution. It has been found that the second virial coefficient A2 and the radius of gyration Rg decrease with the increasing antisolvent CO2 pressure. The scattering intensity of PS chain followed l(h)∞h-αunder different antisolvent pressures (0, 0.6, 1.5, 2.4, 3.3, and 4.2 MPa), suggesting that the PS chain has self-similar structure behavior or a fractal structure in the presence of antisolvent CO2.All this reveals a large effect of antisolvent pressure or the solubility of CO2 in the solution on PS structure. The fractal dimensions increase with the increasing antisolvent pressure, indicating that the polymer chain changes from a swollen coil into a rather dense globule in the course of adding antisolvent CO2.