Effective interactions between star polymers and colloidal particles
Abstract
Using monomer-resolved Molecular Dynamics simulations and theoretical arguments based on the radial dependence of the osmotic pressure in the interior of a star, we systematically investigate the effective interactions between hard, colloidal particles and star polymers in a good solvent. The relevant parameters are the size ratio q between the stars and the colloids, as well as the number of polymeric arms f (functionality) attached to the common center of the star. By covering a wide range of q's ranging from zero (star against a flat wall) up to about 0.75, we establish analytical forms for the star-colloid interaction which are in excellent agreement with simulation results. A modified expression for the star-star interaction for low functionalities, f < 10 is also introduced.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0012384,
title = {Effective interactions between star polymers and colloidal particles},
author = {A. Jusufi and J. Dzubiella and C. N. Likos and C. von Ferber and H. Loewen},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0012384},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
37 pages, 14 figures, preprint-version