Experimental evidence for two thermodynamic length scales in neutralized polyacrylate gels

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Abstract
The small angle neutron scattering (SANS) behavior of fully neutralized sodium polyacrylate gels is investigated in the presence of calcium ions. Analysis of the SANS response reveals the existence of three characteristic length scales, two of which are of thermodynamic origin, while the third length is associated with the frozen-in structural inhomogeneities. This latter contribution exhibits power law behavior with a slope of about −3.6, reflecting the presence of interfaces. The osmotically active component of the scattering signal is defined by two characteristic length scales, a correlation length ξ and a persistence length L.