Abstract
Small-angle neutron scattering from normal, compressed, and water-suspended powders of aggregates of fine silica particles has been studied. The samples possessed average densities ranging from 0.008 to 0.45 g/. Assuming power-law correlations between particles and a finite correlation length ξ, we derive the scattering function S(q) from specific models for particle-particle correlation in these systems. S(q) was found to provide a satisfactory fit to the data for all samples studied. The fractal dimension corresponding to the power-law correlation was 2.61±0.1 for all dry samples, and 2.34±0.1 for the water-suspended samples. The intensity of scattering was found to scale with the correlation length in the manner expected for a fractal system.
- Received 11 July 1985
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.33.269
©1986 American Physical Society