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Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: September 26, 2016
Mesoscopic Diffusion of Poly(ethylene oxide) in Pure and Mixed Solvents
Xiong Zheng1,2, Mikhail A Anisimov1,3, Jan V Sengers1
1Institute for Physical Science and Technology and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , University of Maryland , College Park , Maryland 20742 , United States.
Abstract:
We present results from an experimental dynamic light-scattering study of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) in both a pure solvent (water) and a mixed solvent (tert-butanol + water). The concentration dependence of the diffusive relaxation of the PEO molecules is found to be typical of polymers in a good solvent. However, the mesoscopic diffusive behavior of PEO in the mixed solvent is very different, indicating an initial collapse and subsequent reswelling of PEO caused by co-nonsolvency. Furthermore, in the solutions of PEO with very large molecular weights, we found additional hydrodynamic modes indicating the presence of PEO clusters and aggregates similar to those found by some other investigators.
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