Distribution analyses of multi-modal dynamic light scattering data

A method of data analysis for dynamic light scattering is proposed to evaluate the weight fraction, w(Rh), of a small amount of large aggregates in a dilute solution, where Rh is the hydrodynamic radius. We examined the time-correlation function of scattering intensity for model multi-modal systems, i.e., mixtures of latex solutions having different particle sizes and of polystyrene standard solutions having different molecular weights, by properly taking into account the unknown fractions, w(Rh), and scattering intensities of individual components. We derived an equation to evaluate the weight fractions of the components. The validity of this method was verified by successfully reconstructing the observed correlation functions having fast and slow modes. As a demonstration, the fraction of aggregates in a thermosensitive polymer solution in water was evaluated as a function of temperature.