TRANSPORT IN INTERMEDIATE AND HIGH-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT HYDROXYPROPYLCELLULOSE WATER SOLUTIONS

We obtained the shear viscosity eta and optical probe (67-nm polystyre ne latex spheres) diffusion coefficient D in hydroxypropylcellulose (H PC)/water at temperatures T = 10, 25, and 39-degrees-C. Polymer sample s had weight-average molar masses M of 139, 146, 415, and 1280 kDa. Po lymer concentrations c ranged up to 40-100 g/L; eta was as large as 10 (3)-10(6) cP in different systems. Eta has a stretched-experimental de pendence on c at small c and power-law behavior at large c. D generall y follows a stretched exponential D0 exp(-alphac(nu)) but is consisten t with power-law behavior at large c. Individual spectra fit well to W illiams-Watts forms A0 exp(-thetat(beta)). The dependence of alpha, nu , theta, and beta on c, M, and T is discussed.