Anomalous conformational properties of PEO in H2O and D2O by SANS, PCS andraman scattering

PEO solutions in water and heavy water have been investigated using SANS, P CS and Raman spectroscopy. The employement of these techniques allows to ca rry out a comparison between the diffusive properties of PEO/H2O and PEO/D2 O systems, in order to study the coil conformation dependence on temperatur e and concentration. The data reveal the different conformational propertie s of PEO in the two solvents which have been attributed to a different solv ent quality of H2O and D2O. These results provide evidence to the fact that the properties of macromolecules, even of simple structure, can be influen ced by the isotopic composition of the solvent.