Sodium humate solution studied with small-angle x-ray scattering.

Small-angle x-ray scattering analyses of sodium humate solutions indicate either that particles of two or more different sizes exist in solution or that all of the particles are the same size but consist of a dense core and a less dense outer shell. Fractionation on a molecular sieve chromatographic column suggests that the first possibility is the more likely of the two. The radius of gyration and molecular weight of the larger particles are respectively 110 A and 1 x 10(6) and those of the smaller particles 38 A and 2.1 x 10(5). These particles are ellipsoidal.