Light scattering characterization of thermodynamic interaction of polymers in dilute solution. Effect of experimental error and temperature

Interaction between non-identical polymer molecules in a dilute solution of a mixture of two polymers is quantitatively characterized by the interaction parameter A₂₄, which is the second virial coefficient for interaction of unlike species. The value of A₂₄ may be experimentally obtained by light scattering. The determination of A₂₄ is very sensitive to experimental error in the input data, particularly for mixtures in which one polymer is greatly in excess, and for mixtures of polymers having molecular weights differing by orders of magnitude. A slight rise in A₂₄ with temperature has been observed for solutions of mixtures of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) in diethyl malonate in the range 25–100 C. This change in A₂₄ reflects the increased mutual miscibility of the polymers in solution at elevated temperatures.