Small‐Angle Scattering From Branched Polymers

The single‐polymer form factor is determined for branched polymers using a scaling argument in order to recover the low‐ Q Porod exponent characteristic of the overall structure. The high‐ Q Porod exponent characterizes the local branching structure. An alternative approach based on a high‐ Q expansion contains information about functionality, branch length and branch content. The specific case of a starburst dendrimer for which the form factor is known is discussed. The model predictions are compared to small‐angle neutron scattering data from a dilute solution of dendrimer in D 2 O. magnified image