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This study introduces a mode-resolved light scattering technique that effectively distinguishes polymer contributions from the overwhelming signals of trace large-mass scatterers in polymer solutions. By applying this method to aqueous poly(ethylene glycol) solutions, the researchers successfully isolated the polymer scattering, even when large scatterers contributed over 90% of the total intensity. The findings reveal that the resolved polymer intensity aligns with the universal osmotic equation of state across a range of concentrations and temperatures, providing a new framework for analyzing macromolecular thermodynamics in complex solutions.
Isolating polymer signals from overwhelming large-mass scatterers reveals a universal osmotic equation of state, transforming our understanding of polymer thermodynamics.
Light scattering provides direct access to polymer conformations and thermodynamics. However, trace large-mass scatterers such as aggregates and nanobubbles form unavoidably in polymer solutions and dominate the scattered intensity, obscuring the intrinsic polymer signal. We demonstrate that resolving the static scattering intensity by molecular mobility cleanly separates the polymer and large-scatterer contributions. Applying this mode-resolved analysis to aqueous poly(ethylene glycol) solutions, we isolate the polymer scattering even when these scatterers account for more than 90 % of the total intensity. The resolved polymer intensity recovers the universal osmotic equation of state from the dilute to the semidilute regime over 288 to 358 K. This approach establishes a reliable basis for measuring the thermodynamics of interacting macromolecules in solutions where irreproducible large-mass scatterers have precluded quantitative analysis.
