CHAPTER 21. Scattering Studies on Natural Rubber Based Blends and IPNs

To optimize the design of rubber-based materials, a thorough and detailed knowledge of their structure and morphology is paramount. Under this point of view, scattering and diffraction techniques are extremely useful and informative. Scattering techniques are especially suited for characterizing heterophasic blends because they are sensitive to fluctuations of the composition, therefore yielding useful information on the mutual dispersion of the polymers composing the material. This chapter offers brief introductions on wide-angle X-ray diffraction, small-angle X-ray scattering, small-angle neutron scattering, and light scattering, and it presents a number of examples where these techniques were determinant for the investigation. It should not thus be intended as a ‘textbook’ on these techniques but as a collection of stimulating approaches, among which the reader could find the most suitable solution for his or her particular characterization problem.