(250a) Correlating Branch Content Information from Rheological Studies and Small Angle Neutron Scattering

Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) may be a viable route to the quantification of branching in disordered materials like long chain branched polyethylenes. This involves exploiting the fractal scaling these materials are expected to display in dilute solution conditions, and could yield branch content information in terms of mole fraction of material present in branches in the polymer molecule. Quantifying branch content in this manner, could be corroborated using rheological measurements sensitive to the presence of long chain branches. We investigate and correlate branch content information obtained from small angle neutron scattering and the manifestation of this structural feature in rheological measurements.