Hydration phenomena and cooperative diffusion in polymer-water solutions

Abstract

Incoherent Quasi-Elastic Neutron Scattering, ultrasonic velocity and density measurements on poly(ethylene oxide) aqueous solutions are presented. The neutron analysis indicates the existence of strongly confined water and furnish an estimated value of the confined region size of ~3 A. The behaviour of the excess adiabatic compressibility as a function of concentration and temperature shows the presence of a more compact arrangement in which up to two water molecules for each monomeric unity are allowed.