Study of polymer and nanoparticle mixtures using dynamic light scattering method
摘要
Mixtures of polyacrylamide (PAM) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were investigated by preparing polymer solutions of different concentrations containing AgNPs at various mixing ratios to understand the effect of AgNPs on the morphological characteristics of the polymer solutions using the dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique. UV–Vis spectroscopy was employed to obtain the absorption spectra of the AgNPs, thereby confirming their formation. The correlation functions were analyzed using the standard theoretical approach, and the particle size distribution profiles obtained from the DLS measurements were evaluated as a function of hydrodynamic diameter. The results show that the morphological characteristics of the polymer solution in the dilute and unentangled semidilute regimes are strongly influenced by the AgNP mixing ratio, with the AgNPs dominating the morphological behavior of the polymer solution. In contrast, in the entangled semidilute regime, the morphological characteristics of the polymer dominate over those of the AgNPs, irrespective of the AgNP mixing ratio. Furthermore, the results demonstrate the effect of incorporating a small amount of AgNPs (12:1) across all concentration regimes. Interestingly, the polymeric characteristics remain dominant throughout the investigated concentration range, indicating that a small amount of AgNPs does not significantly influence the polymer morphology or suppress the slow relaxation mode of the polymer. This study establishes that the PAM–AgNP system is suitable for applications requiring the combined presence of both the polymer and AgNPs. Moreover, depending on the desired morphological characteristics, the AgNP concentration can be tailored so that either the polymer or the AgNPs dominate the overall morphological behavior.