Tuesday 9 July 2013, Strathblane & Cromdale Halls, 16:30-18:30 Poster session A - Colloids, gels and foams P.003 Investigation of the shell-hierarchic structures of SiO2 spherical nanoparticles forming the photonic crystals and photonic glasses M Arefev1, N Grigoryeva1, K Voronina2, G Kopitsa2 and S Grigoriev2 1 Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia, 2Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, Russia Abstract unavailable P.004 SANS investigation on self-assembled nanostructured SiO2/TiO2 spheres by evaporation induced selfassembly J Bahadur, D Sen and S Mazumder Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, India Evaporation induced self-assembly of mixed colloids has been employed to synthesize TiO2/SiO2 composite microspheres. Scanning electron microscopy and small angle neutron scattering experiments reveal hierarchical morphology of the microspheres. The difference in morphology of the grains for silica, titania and its composite has been attributed to variation in the average size and polydispersity of the nanoparticles (NPs). The SANS experiments show that composite grains do not show aging effects in contrast to those of only silica grains and is related to specific surface area of the grains. The temporal stability of the composite microspheres is attributed to the inhibition of coalescence of the silica NPs due to presence of titania NPs. Diffraction results show the improved thermal stability of the composite grains against the anatase to rutile phase transition and is attributed to the suppression of the growth of titania nanoparticles in silica matrix. A plausible mechanism has been elucidated for the formation of the microsphere of different morphology during evaporation induced self-assembly. Mesoporous TiO2/SiO2 grains synthesized by the evaporation driven assembly of the mixed colloids possesses improved properties and may be utilized as potential candidate for photocatalytic applications. [1] [2] [3] [4] Bahadur et al,J. Colloid Interface Sci.351, 2010, 357 Bahadur et al,Langmuir27, 2011, 8404–8414 Bahadur et al, Langmuir, 28, 2012, 1914−1923 Sen, Bahadur et al, Soft Matter, 8, 2012, 1955–1963 P.005 Molecular exchange in block copolymer micelles S-H Choi1, F Bates2 and T Lodge2 1 Hongik University, Korea, 2University of Minnesota, USA Block copolymers can self-assemble into micelles when dispersed in a selective solvent. Compared to thermodynamic structure, much less attention has been paid to the dynamics of molecular exchange in block copolymer micelles, which underlies the attainment of thermodynamically equilibrated structures. Single molecule exchange between spherical micelles was investigated using time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (TRSANS). Two pairs of structurally matched poly(styrene-b-ethylene-alt-propylene) (PS-PEP) compounds were dispersed in an isotopic squalane mixture, which is highly selective towards the PEP blocks. Each pair includes polymers with fully deuterated (dPS-PEP) and protonated (hPS-PEP) PS blocks. SANS intensity is directly related to the concentration of protonated chains in the micelle cores. Therefore, a reduction in the measured scattering ICNS 2013 International Conference on Neutron Scattering intensity can be quantitatively correlated with the exchange of chains. The temperature dependence of the chain exchange rate R(t) can be explained based on the core block dynamics, while the documented quasi-logarithmic decay of R(t) is shown to be consistent with single chain exchange that is hypersensitive to the core degree of polymerization and therefore polydispersity. Complementary measurements were also conducted with concentrated solutions where the micelles pack onto a body-centered cubic lattice. Based on a first-principles model, the exchange kinetics are expected to be independent of micelle concentration. However, slower dynamics in ordered micelles were observed. These results suggest that contributions from factors other than core block dynamics can come into play in the exchange kinetics for ordered micelles. P.006 Large scale structure of physical hydrogels based on partially hydrophobized hyaluronic acid A Deriu1, M Di Bari2, C Chiapponi2, I Finelli3, G Paradossi3, L Cantu4, E D Favero4, J Teixeira5 and T Narayanan6 1 Universita' degli Studi di Parma ,Italy, 2Universita' degli studi di Parma, Italy, 3Universita' di Roma, Italy, 4Universita' degli Studi di Milano, Italy, 5Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, France, 6ESRF, France Hyaluronic acid (HYA) is a natural polysaccharide able to form a physical gels; it is largely used in biomedicine as the main component of scaffolds for tissue engineering and as basic material for drug delivery platforms. Chemically modified forms of HYA have been introduced to produce stiffer gels improving their viscoelastic properties at low saccharide concentration. Among them, HYADD™ is a chemically modified hyaluronate with 2–3 % of the carboxylate groups grafted with a hexadecylic amine moiety. Using SAXS SANS, we have performed a comparative study of the large scale structure of HYA and HYADD gels at concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 10% (w polymer/w total). For biotechnological applications HYADD gels undergo a thermal annealing process after gelation. In order to understand the effect of this process on the gel structure, samples with and without annealing have been measured. The analysis of the diluted samples, i.e. of concentration from 0:3 to 0:8 %, shows that HYADD chains have a rodlike form factor up to a chainlength 80 Å , whereas the chains of the natural polysaccharide maintain this kind of structure up to 1000Å . In HYADD, the presence of the lateral hexadecylic chains along the backbone induces a coiling of the polymer: the power law describing the decrease in the scattering intensity as a function of Q (I(Q) Q1.7), indicates a self avoiding random walk. The behaviour of HYA chains is different: they aggregate in a surface fractal. P.007 Detailed SANS contrast variation on toluene-based Co ferrofluid A Feoktystov1, M Avdeev2, N Matoussevitch3, A Ioffe1 and T Brückel4 1 Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich Centre for Neutron Science, Outstation at FRM II, Germany, 2Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Russia, 3Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, Institut für Nanotechnologie, Germany, 4Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich Centre for Neutron Science and Peter Grünberg Institut, JARA-FIT, Germany Contrast variation is a powerful technique, which is widely applied for studies of complex systems in small-angle neutron scattering experiments. The advantage of H/D substitution in the solvent without change in its chemical properties makes it possible to study such many-component systems in detail. In case of polydisperse systems one has to consider averaging of the scattering intensity over the particle size distribution. Thus, the direct modeling of the scattering intensities requires a certain number of free parameters, which can give the researcher a wrong result. The new developed approach of contrast variation for polydisperse systems allows researcher to obtain parameters, which can be later fixed in the model. A successful application of the approach in contrast variation has been already tested on iron oxide magnetic fluids. In the present work we report about the contrast variation study of cobalt ferrofluid based on toluene with oleoyl sarcosine coating. The initial magnetic fluid (1.2 vol. % of Co) was diluted with toluene in the ratio 1:5. Several contrasts were prepared so that the amount of deuterated toluene in the solvent varied in the range 0-85%. The ICNS 2013 International Conference on Neutron Scattering corresponding buffer solutions were prepared and used for background subtraction. Structural parameters of the nanoparticles were precisely obtained and used for further modeling of the scattering curves. P.008 Form factor of pNIPAM microgels in overpacked states U Gasser1, J Hyatt2, J-J Lietor-Santos2, E S Herman2, L Andrew Lyon2 and A Fernandez-Nieves2 1 Paul Scherrer Institut, Switzerland 2Georgia Institute of Technology, USA We present a form factor study of soft, thermoresponsive microgels based on poly(N- isopropylacrylamide) at high particle number densities, where the particles must shrink or overlap to fit into the available space. Small-angle neutron scattering with contrast matching techniques is used to determine the particle form factor. The particle size is found to be constant up to a volume fraction roughly between random close packing and space filling. Beyond this point, the particle size decreases with increasing particle concentration; this decrease approximately corresponds to what is expected in the absence of microgel interpenetration. Noteworthy, we do not observe a glass transition up to an effective volume fraction of 1.4, as the suspensions remain liquid-like even above space filling. In addition, shear thinning profiles do not map onto hard sphere behavior, confirming that particle softness is responsible for our observations. P.009 Metallo-supramolecular micellar gels: a structural study A Joset1, C Mugemana2, P Guillet3, M-S Appavou4, N De Souza5, C-A Fustin2, B Leyh1 and J-F Gohy2 1 University of Liège, Belgium, 2Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, 3Université d’Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse, France, 4Jülich Centre for Neutron Science, Germany, 5Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Australia The formation of metallo-supramolecular micellar gels is investigated by SANS. The micelles consist of polystyreneblock-poly(tert-butylacrylate), PS-b-PtBA-[, (-[ is terpyridine) block copolymers, dissolved in deuterared ethanol, which guarantees a significant contrast. The hydrophobic polystyrene core is stabilized by the poly(tert-butylacrylate) corona. The influence of the copolymer concentration on the micelle structure and on its space organization has been investigated, as well as the significant rheological impact of the subsequent addition of three metal ions (Fe(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II)). The form factor of the micelles is described using the Pedersen and Gerstenberg model[1], with a solvent-free spherical core and gaussian PtBA chains. The fitting parameters are the average radius of the core, the standard deviation of its size distribution, and the radius of gyration of the PtBA chains. Upon increasing the copolymer concentration, the average distance between the micelles decreases and interparticle interferences lead to a structure factor peak at increasing q values. This behaviour has been taken into account through the Percus-Yevick hard sphere model[2]. Two new parameters are introduced: the hard sphere interaction distance and the hard sphere volume fraction in the solution. The structural parameters characterizing both the micelles and the network built upon gelation have been determined upon increasing concentration and addition of several metal ions. The results are correlated with dynamic light scattering, electronic microscopy and rheology experiments. [1] [2] Pedersen, J. S.; Gerstenberg, M. C. Macromolecules 1996, 29, 1363-1365 Percus, J. K.; Yevick, G.; J. Phys. Rev 1958, 110, 1-13 ICNS 2013 International Conference on Neutron Scattering P.010 Structure study of a Microemulsion system with Ionic Liquid T H Kang, Y Jeon, and M Won Kim KAIST, Korea A single phase solution was made with an ionic liquid, 1-tetradecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C14MIM∙Cl) contained a small amount of water in a non-aqueous liquid, Octane. The solution was transparent optically and very stable thermodynamically during months. We have used a Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) technique to investigate the structure of the solution. By fitting data with a guinier plot in the low q range, the radius of gyration of a microemulsion droplet is 20Å. In the high q region, the power law exponent of intensity curve is below 4, which indicates a sphere. Since the solution is expected to be a w/o (water in oil) microemulsion, scattering intensity could be analyzed by fitting with a core-shell model. We have estimated the composition of the core and shell of a microemulsion droplet by measuring the value of scattering length density (SLD) by a contrast matching method to reduce the number of fitting parameters. In this presentation, we’ll discuss the SANS data with the core shell model of three shapes: sphere, oblate and prolate. P.011 SANS study of nanophase separated hydrogels based on epoxy networks I Krakovsky1 and N Szekely2 1 Charles University, Czech Republic, 2Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS, Germany Polymer hydrogels are obtained by swelling of hydrophilic polymer networks in water. Small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering (SAXS/SANS) from polymer networks swollen in good solvents provide an information about frozen and dynamic heterogeneities, respectively, originating from spatial distribution of network junctions and thermal movement of polymer segments. However, if the solvent is good for some of network building blocks, only, these contributions might be superimposed by heterogeneities due to nanophase separation of the system into solventrich and solvent-poor domains. Hydrogels based on epoxy network are very versatile materials whose properties can be tuned by chemistry, functionality, and flexibility of the precursors used in their preparation. We have prepared a few series of hydrophilic epoxy networks by end-linking reaction of α,ω-diamino terminated ABA triblock copolymers of polyoxypropylene (POP) and polyoxyethylene (POE) with diglycidyl ether of Bisphenol A propoxylate and polypropylene glycol diglycidyl ether. Epoxy hydrogels were obtained by swelling of these networks to equilibrium in heavy water. Whereas POE is hydrophilic within the temperature range 0 – 100 oC, POP is hydrophilic at temperatures lower than ca 15 oC. Consequently, water in hydrogels is not distributed uniformly but gives rise to a temperature sensitive structure consisting of water-rich and water-poor nanodomains. In this communication SANS study of structure of polymer hydrogels based on epoxy networks and structural changes induced by external stimuli will be discussed. P.012 Effect of doping PVA-borax gels with Holmium salts M Lawrence1, E Desa2 and V K Aswal3 1 St. Xavier's College, India, 2Department of Physics, Goa University, India, 3Solid State Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India < Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)-borax hydrogels doped with varying concentrations of holmium have been studied using Small-Angle Neutron Scattering and X-Ray Diffraction. Both techniques point to the attachment of the dopant ions to the crystallites. The doped gels exhibit higher scattered intensity indicating attachment of the rare-earth complex to the crystallites through electrostatic attraction. The formation of dopant-crystallite complexes leads to an initial ICNS 2013 International Conference on Neutron Scattering increase in correlation length under Ornstein-Zernike approximation. The trends in the SANS data are in keeping with the variations in the X-ray diffraction patterns pertaining to structures within the PVA chains. P.013 SANS study of tungsten-potassium two-phase system A Len1, P Harmat2, G Pépy1 and L Rosta1 1 Wigner Research Center for Physics, Hungary, 2ANTE Innovative Technologies, Hungary The tungsten filament production and the tungsten structure research have a tradition of many decades in the lighting industry and a great theoretical importance in the field of material science. However actually the lighting industry is going through significant changes, the tungsten production continues to be important in many other industrial sectors as well as in the field of fossil energy, renewable power generation, power transmission and power distribution. The lighting industry uses the tungsten wires and filaments in incandescent lamps, compact fluorescent lamps, high intensity discharge lamps etc. Therefore it is worthier to attend the no-answered questions concerning the tungsten nanoproperties, as it is the question of the relation between the macroscopic properties and the nanoscale structure of the wires. This paper presents small angle neutron scattering (SANS) studies of tungsten wires. The obtained results show that the method of SANS, especially the improvement of the two dimensional data evaluation method, meets it's ''partner'' in the tungsten wires, and gives reasons to state that both, the tungsten nanostructure research and the SANS method development gain by the joint study of them. We present several aspects of the nanostructural characteristics of the potassium inclusions in the tungsten wires during the processing, using the one and two dimensional data evaluation methods, adapted to the complex system of the oriented scattering objects. The measurements were made on several SANS instruments, namely: D11 Grenoble, PAXE Saclay and YS Budapest. P.014 Time-resolved SANS study on reversible light-induced microgel swelling via photosensitive surfactant S Maccarrone1, Y Zakrevskyy2, V Pipich1, T Schrader1, O Holderer1, S Santer2 and D Richter1 1 JCNS, Germany, 2Universität Potsda, Germany Stimuli responsive gels have been intensively investigated for applications in biology and medicine as well as in development of micro-fluidic devices and micro-sensors. These applications are possible thanks to the unique swelling behavior of hydrogels which can change in response to surrounding conditions (temperature, pH, ionic strength, solvent). In order to realize remote control of a hydrogel by external stimuli such as light, electric or magnetic field, a variety of nanoparticles (e.g., silicate, metal, magnetic, or carbon nano-tubes) were incorporated into polymer networks. Recently, we have demonstrated a light-induced reversible switching of the swelling of microgel particles triggered by photo-isomerization of a photosensitive azobenzene-containing surfactant. Addition of the surfactant above a critical concentration leads to contraction of the microgel. UV-light irradiation results in trans-cis isomerization of the azobenzene unit incorporated into the surfactant tail and causes an unbinding of the more hydrophilic cis isomer from the microgel and its reversible swelling. The hydrogel swelling/contraction is studied for the first time by time-resolved Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS). Experiments are performed on KSW3 instrument at FRMII reactor in Garching bei München. This is the world only Very Small Angle Neutron Scattering instrument running on the focusing mirror principle and, in standard configuration, allows structural analysis to length scale up to several micrometers. The structural changes and reversibly are discussed in terms of intra-/ inter- particles characteristic lengths. ICNS 2013 International Conference on Neutron Scattering P.015 Nano-Composite gel composed of Micellar Network and Silica Nano-Particles, as studied by small-angle scattering K Mortensen1 and M Annaka2 1 University of Copenhagen, Denmark, 2Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan Organic-inorganic hybrid materials have attracted attention since they can be tailored to combine the advantages of organic polymers with those of inorganic components yielding materials, possessing enhanced materials properties, including optical quality. These properties arise from the synergetic interaction of the individual organic and inorganic constituents. Nature also combines different types of macromolecules in order to form gels with outstanding physical properties. One example is the lens, which projects the optical image on the retina together with the cornea. With the attempt to make an artificial composite material with mechanical properties, light transmission factor and refractive index that makes it suitable for implant of intraocular lens, we have studied a nano-composite material composed of hydrophobically-modified poly(ethylene glycol) and silica OCAPS nanoparticles [1,2], using combined SANS and SAXS. The structural studies show that the polymers form a micellar network that order into a bcc phase. The network structure easily aligns into mono or twin-domain texture upon shear. The OCAPS nano-particles are very well dispersed within the polymer gel structure, as evident from the combined SANS and SAXS measurements which convincingly show that the OPACS nano-particles are located within specific regions of the micellar network structure. [1] [2] Annaka, Mortensen, Vigild, Matsuura, Tsuji, Ueda, Tsujinaka Biomacromolecules12, 4011, 2011 Annaka, Mortensen, Matsuura, Ito, Nochioka, Ogata.Soft Matter8, 7185, 2012 P.016 SESANS Experiments using Hard-Sphere Colloids with added Depletants R Pynn1, A Washington1, X Li1, A Schofield2, K Hong3, R Dalgleish4, M Fitzsimmons5 and Q Wang5 1 Indiana University, USA, 2University of Edinburgh, UK, 3Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA, 4Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, UK, 5Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA A low concentration of macromolecules or small particles added to a colloidal suspension of larger particles causes an osmotic pressure that tends to drive the large colloidal particles towards each other. We used Spin Echo Small Angle Scattering (SESANS) to investigate correlations between 200-nm-diameter, sterically-stabilzed, spherical PMMA particles suspended in a refractive-index-matched solvent when small amounts of polystyrene were added. SESANS allowed us to clearly separate the short- and long-range correlations. We found that even very small amounts of polystyrene cause small clusters of PMMA to form. If sufficient polystyrene is added, the small clusters self-assemble into larger aggregates with power law correlations between PMMA spheres at distances beyond a few colloidal diameters. When the size of the large aggregates fell within our observation window we were able to determine the average size of the fractal aggregates. While the separation of short- and long-range correlations could have been performed using appropriate SANS instrumentation, the two distance scales are more clearly separated by SESANS. In addition, SESANS permits us to measure the total scattering from the system, a parameter inaccessible to SANS that can provide important information about the structure of individual particles, without resorting to contrast matching experiments. ICNS 2013 International Conference on Neutron Scattering P.017 Structure and dynamics of responsive core-shell microgels W Richtering, J Dubbert and C Scherzinger RWTH Aachen, Germany Core-shell microgels that consist of different stimuli-senstive polymers reveal unique behaviors due to the coupling of the two networks. Small angle neutron scattering as well as neutron spin echo experiments provide detailed information on the mutual influence of core and shell on their swelling. Variation of temperature and / or solvent composition allows selective swelling or deswelling of core and shell respectively, which influences not only the size but also the chain dynamics due to confinement and mechanical stress. In this contribution we will discuss experiments on core-shell microgels with soft and rigid core and also on hollow microgels exploiting contrast variation. Furthermore the kinetics of microgel collapse was probed by time-resolved stopped-flow scattering experiments. P.018 Morphology of carbon nanotubes dispersed in solvents and into polymer and carbon membranes: A SANS study A Sapalidis1, E Favvas1, K Stefanopoulos1, S Nitodas2, A Stefopoulos2 and A Mitropoulos3 1 NCSR, Greece, 2Glonatech S.A. TE.S.P.A, Greece, 3Cavala Institute of Technology, Greece One promising pathway for gas separation and hydrogen production is the membrane separation technology. Best candidates for this application are inorganic and mostly composite membranes. Carbon nanotubes have been recognized as ideal reinforcing fillers due to their unique mechanical properties and their high aspect ratio. In this study, high purity multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized using a novel catalytic FBCVD (fluidized bed chemical vapour deposition) technique, which enables large-scale production at low cost, while maintaining high purity (> 98%) and exceptional material properties of the developed nanoparticles. Covalent modification of pristine MWCNTs was applied in order to optimize both the nanoscale morphology and the dispersion in organic solvents. The functionalization process introduced certain phenol groups, on the external surface of the nanotubes. The pristine and functionalized carbon MWCNTs were characterized using a variety of techniques such as SEM, TEM, TGA, XRD, XPS as well as Raman spectroscopy. The composite membranes were produced from the solution consisted of the functionalized MWCNTs and the polymer (polyimide) and prepared via the wet spinning method through a specially designed orifice. The as-produced polymeric co-polyimide precursors were further pyrolized, under controlled conditions, to develop the composite carbon membranes. The information concerning the agglomeration/dispersion behaviour and the conformation of CNTs both in solutions and within the membrane matrices was investigated by SANS. P.019 Effect of polydispersity on the phase behaviour of soft microgel suspensions A Scotti1, U Gasser1, E Herman2, A Singh2, L Andrew Lyon2, A Fernandez-Nieves2 1 Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland, 2Georgia Institute of Technology, USA Microgel suspensions with a majority of small particles and a small fraction of big particles with about double size can form crystals without defects caused by the large particles. Due to the softness of microgel particles, the big particles can shrink to fit into the lattice formed by the small particles [1]. For hard spheres, the size-polydispersity is a much more limiting factor for crystallization. No hard sphere crystals form at polydispersities higher than 12%. We systematically study the role of polydispersity in suspensions of fully swollen poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) microgel particles. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and dynamic light scattering are used to measure polydispersity, particle size and the internal structure of the particles in suspensions with polydispersities ICNS 2013 International Conference on Neutron Scattering in the range from 10% up to 20%. We observe crystallization in samples with polydispersity as high as 17%. Furthermore, the effect of polydispersity on the crystal lattice is obtained from SANS and small-angle X-ray studies. [1] A. St. John Iyer and L.A.Lyon, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. , 48, 4562-4566, 2009 P.020 Water absorption in polyvinyl alcohol cryo-gels under controlled humidity conditions N K Szekely1, A Radulescu1, L Paduano2 and D Richter3 1 Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS, Germany, 2Chemistry Department, University of Naples ,Italy, 3Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS and Institute for Complex Systems ICS, Germany Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) cryo-gels being nontoxic and non carcinogenic and having bio-adhesive properties are suitable in a large variety of biotechnological and biomedical applications (e.g. active drug delivery). Because of their good mechanical properties and high water uptake capacity they could be also used in the treatment of polluted water. Physically cross-linked PVA cryo-gels are formed from PVA solution during freeze/thaw thermal cycling and quenching. Cycling at low temperatures causes formation of ice crystals, which increase the polymer concentration in the surrounding unfrozen regions, inducing PVA crystallization. This gelation process results in the formation of a porous network in which polymer crystallites act as junction points. It has been observed that the degree of crystallinity and the size of crystallites increase with increasing the number of freeze/thaw cycles [1]. Water absorption properties of PVA cryo-gels might be affected by the number of freeze/thaw cycles in which they have been produced. The aim of this study was to reveal the water uptake mechanism of PVA cryo-gels produced in different freeze/thaw cycles. Structural evolution induced by D2O vapor absorption has been investigated under controlled humidity conditions by time resolved SANS. Water absorption isotherms have been determined at various relative humidities (R.H.) and temperatures. PVA cryo-gels showed complex hierarchical structures which were sensitively dependent on the changes in the R.H. [1] R. Ricciardi et al.: Chem. Mater., 2005, 17, 1183-1189 ICNS 2013 International Conference on Neutron Scattering