Assessment of branching in polymers from small‐angle x‐ray scattering (SAXS)

Abstract Small‐angle x‐ray scattering from solutions was applied in assessing branching using well‐characterized dextran hydrolyzates. It was found that the longitudinal and cross‐sectional properties of the polysaccharides vary in a manner predictable by the molecular topology of the chains. A hydrodynamically equivalent linear model for dextran is proposed and it has been shown that this model correctly predicts values of Φ and K , Flory's universal hydrodynamic constant and the Flory–Fox–Schaefgen parameter, respectively.