Related papers: Entropy-Controlled Cross-Linking in Linker-Mediate…
We explore the effect of random permanent cross-links on a system of directed polymers confined between two planes with their end-points free to slide on them. We treat the cross-links as quenched disorder and we use a semimicroscopic…
Polymer chains decorated with a fraction of monomers capable of forming reversible bonds form transient polymer networks that are important in soft and biological systems. If chains are flexible and the attractive monomers are all of the…
Low-density "equilibrium" gels that consist of a percolated, kinetically arrested network of colloidal particles and are resilient to aging can be fabricated by restricting the number of effective bonds that form between the colloids.…
We study theoretically situations where competition arises between an interdiffusion process and a cross-linking chemical reaction at interfaces between pieces of the same polymer material. An example of such a situation is observable in…
The elasticity of rubbery polymer networks has been considered to be entropy-driven. On the other hand, studies on single polymer chain mechanics have revealed that the elasticity of ultimately stretched polymer chains is dominated by the…
We study the phase behavior of random heteropolymers (RHPs) with quenched cross-links, a novel polymer class of technological and biological relevance, and show the possible occurrence of freezing with few chain conformations sampled. The…
Molecular dynamic simulation enables one to correlate the evolution of the micro-structure with anisotropic stress when a material is subject to strain. The anisotropic stress due to a constant strain-rate load in a cross-linked polymer is…
Recent experiments have demonstrated that the nonlinear elasticity of in vitro networks of the biopolymer actin is dramatically altered in the presence of a flexible cross-linker such as the abundant cytoskeletal protein filamin. The basic…
In many industrial processes, pieces of the same polymer material are brought into contact at a temperature above the glass transition. Interdiffusion then takes place across the interface and leads to a strengthening of the junction.…
We suggest that highly conducting oriented polymers with a fibril structure can be modeled by a regular lattice of disordered metallic wires with a random first-neighbor interwire coupling which mimics the cross-links between fibrils. We…
While polymer solutions lack the mechanical stability only transiently cross-linked networks can fulfill the competing requirements of structural stability and maximal energy dissipation. Here, we show that transient cross-links entail…
We study analytically the intricate phase behavior of cross-linked $AB$ diblock copolymer melts, which can undergo two main phase transitions due to quenched random constraints: Gelation, i.e., spatially random localization of polymers…
Transient networks comprised of polymers connected by short-lived bonds are a common design theme for both biological and synthetic materials. Transient bonds can provide mechanical rigidity, while still allowing for visco-elastic flows on…
Developing construction methods of materials tailored for given applications with absolute control over building block placement poses an immense challenge. DNA-coated colloids offer the possibility of realising programmable self-assembly,…
We consider here a blend made of two types of polymers, $A$ and $B$, of different chemical nature. At high temperature the homogeneous mixture is cross-linked. As the temperature is lowered, the two species try to segregate but are kept…
Solution-processable interlayers are an important building block for the commercialization of organic electronic devices such as organic solar cells. Here, the potential of cross-linking to provide an insoluble, stable and versatile charge…
Grafting linkers with open ends of complementary single-stranded DNA makes a flexible tool to tune interactions between colloids,which facilitates the design of complex self-assembly structures. Recently, it has been proposed to coat…
A model of dipolar dimer liquid (DDL) on a two-dimensional lattice has been proposed. We found that at high density and low temperature, it has a partially ordered phase which we called glacia phase. The glacia phase transition can be…
The structural arrest of a polymeric suspension might be driven by an increase of the cross--linker concentration, that drives the gel transition, as well as by an increase of the polymer density, that induces a glass transition. These…
The quasi-equilibrium evolution of the helical fraction occurring in a biopolymer network (gelatin gel) under an applied stress has been investigated by observing modulation in its optical activity. Its variation with the imposed chain…