We report a Compton scattering study on the molecular-level structural changes of aqueous poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) across the conformational phase transition. PNIPAM is a thermoresponsive polymer that changes its conformation in water from the hydrophilic coil state to the collapsed hydrophobic globule state at 32 °C. Combined with density functional theory calculations, the Compton scattering experiments detect two type of changes in the phase transition.
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