Related papers: Semidilute Principle for Gels
Polymer gels are comprised of a three-dimensional, cross-linked network that can typically withstand the mechanical deformation associated with both swelling and de-swelling. Thus, gels can be designed with smart behaviors that require both…
We present a detailed study of the static and dynamic behavior of long semiflexible polymer chains in a melt. Starting from previously obtained fully equilibrated high molecular weight polymer melts [{\it Zhang et al.} ACS Macro Lett. 3,…
Soft membranes are commonly employed in shape-morphing applications, where the material is programmed to achieve a target shape upon activation by an external trigger, and as coating layers that alter the surface characteristics of bulk…
Using molecular dynamics simulations, we show that a widely-accepted theoretical prediction for glassy-polymeric strain hardening moduli ($G_R \propto \rho_e$, where $\rho_e$ is the entanglement density) fails badly for semiflexible…
We study the swelling of a flexible linear chain composed of active particles by analytical theory and computer simulation. Three different situations are considered: a free chain, a chain confined to an external harmonic trap, and a chain…
Surface creasing in swelling polymer gels is commonly attributed to compressive strain or interlayer mismatch, yet its general control remains unclear. Here we show that solvent polymerization degree $N_{\rm s}$ provides an independent…
Microgels made of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) are the prototype of soft, thermoresponsive particles widely used to study fundamental problems in condensed matter physics. However, their internal structure is far from homogeneous, and…
Polymers exposed to shear flow exhibit a rich tumbling dynamics. While rigid rods rotate on Jeffery orbits, flexible polymers stretch and coil up during tumbling. Theoretical results show that in both of these asymptotic regimes the…
We report the results of extensive Dynamic Monte Carlo simulations of systems of self-assembled Equilibrium Polymers without rings in good solvent. Confirming recent theoretical predictions, the mean-chain length is found to scale as $\Lav…
The density crossover scaling of various thermodynamic properties of solutions and melts of self-avoiding and highly flexible polymer chains without chain intersections confined to strictly two dimensions is investigated by means of…
The equation of state of the osmotic pressure for linear-polymer solutions in good solvents is universally described by a scaling function. We experimentally measure the osmotic pressure of the gelation process via osmotic deswelling. We…
We present two successive mean-field approximations for describing the mechanical properties and the swelling equilibrium of polyelectrolyte gels in contact with a salt solution. The first mean-field approximation reduces the many-chain…
We study model near-critical polymer gelling systems made of gluten proteins dispersions stabilized at different distances from the gel point. We impose different shear rates and follow the time evolution of the stress. For sufficiently…
Polymer gels behave as soft viscoelastic solids and exhibit a generic nonlinear mechanical response characterized by pronounced stiffening prior to irreversible failure, most often through macroscopic fractures. Here, we aim at capturing…
Microgels are soft colloidal particles that, when dispersed in a solvent, swell and deswell in response to changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature, concentration, and $p$H. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we model bulk…
We study the scaling limit of a fully packed loop model in two dimensions, where the loops are endowed with a bending rigidity. The scaling limit is described by a three-parameter family of conformal field theories, which we characterize…
Recent theory and experiments have shown how the buildup of a high-concentration polymer layer at a one-dimensional solvent-air interface can lead to an evaporation rate that scales with time as $t^{-1/2}$ and that is insensitive to the…
We present a pedagogical review of the swelling thermodynamics and phase transitions of polymer gels. In particular, we discuss how features of the volume phase transition of the gel's osmotic equilibrium is analogous to other transitions…
Many glass-forming fluids exhibit a remarkable thermodynamic scaling in which dynamic properties, such as the viscosity, the relaxation time, and the diffusion constant, can be described under different thermodynamic conditions in terms of…
Swelling is a volumetric-growth process in which a porous material expands by spontaneous imbibition of additional pore fluid. Swelling is distinct from other growth processes in that it is inherently poromechanical: Local expansion of the…