Static and dynamic light scattering studies on dilute polyrotaxane solutions

Static and dynamic light scattering measurements were performed for dilute polyrotaxane solutions in different types of solvent systems, i.e. dimethylacetamide (DMAc) or dimethylformamide (DMF) containing 1-6 wt% lithium chloride (LiCl), 1 M aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). No aggregation of the polyrotaxane in DMF/LiCl was confirmed in the present study. Radius of gyration of the dissolved polyrotaxane was largest in NaOHaq., followed by values in amide solvents/LiCl and that in DMSO, and was probably dominated not by Coulombic repulsion but by the mutual affinity between solvent and polyrotaxane. Ratio of radius of gyration to hydrodynamic radius suggested the flexible random-coiled conformation in DMSO and relatively more extended, semi-flexible ones in amide solvents/LiCl and NaOHaq. The obtained values of second virial coefficient and weight average molecular weight seemed to be affected by a potential change in differential refractive index increments, caused by selective macrocationization or ionization.