Related papers: Nematic Ordering Problem As Polymer Excluded Volum…
In this chapter we review the rich behavior of polymer chains embedded in a quenched random environment. We first consider the problem of a Gaussian chain free to move in a random potential with short-ranged correlations. We derive the…
Following the Flory ideality hypothesis intrachain and interchain excluded volume interactions are supposed to compensate each other in dense polymer systems. Multi-chain effects should thus be neglected and polymer conformations may be…
Entangled polymers are an important class of materials for their toughness, processability, and functionalizability. However, physically detailed modeling of highly entangled polymers can prove challenging, especially as one considers…
Linear polymers and other connected "line liquids" exhibit a coupling between density and equilibrium nematic order on the macroscopic level that gives rise to a Meyer-de Gennes vectorial conservation law. Nevertheless, isotropic linear…
The relation between elasticity and yielding is investigated in a model polymer solid by Molecular-Dynamics simulations. By changing the bending stiffness of the chain and the bond length, semicrystalline and disordered glassy polymers -…
We have developed a theory of polymer entanglement using an extended Cahn-Hilliard functional, with two extra terms. One is a nonlocal attractive term, operating over mesoscales, which is interpreted as giving rise to entanglement, and the…
We develop a theory of polymers in a nematic solvent by exploiting an analogy with two-dimensional quantum bosons at zero temperature. We argue that the theory should also describe polymers in an {\sl isotropic} solvent. The dense phase is…
We have developed a theory of polymer entanglement using an extended Cahn-Hilliard functional, with two extra terms. One is a nonlocal attractive term, operating over mesoscales, which is interpreted as giving rise to entanglement, and the…
Lattice-field calculations are performed on a Gaussian polymer chain confined to move within the region defined by two fused spheres. The results of the calculations are in accord with recent experimental measurements and computer…
We study the effect of dielectric anisotropy of polymers on their equilibrium ordering within mean-field theory but with a formalism that takes into account the full n-body nature of van der Waals forces. Dielectric anisotropy within…
Solutions of semiflexible polymers confined by repulsive planar walls are studied by density functional theory and Molecular Dynamics simulations, to clarify the competition between the chain alignment favored by the wall and the depletion…
The subject of this work is the adsorption transition of a long flexible self-avoiding polymer chain onto a rigid thin rod. The rod is represented by a cylinder of radius R with a short-ranged attractive surface potential for the chain…
The statistical mechanics of polymer loops entangled in the two-dimensional array of randomly distributed obstacles of infinite length is discussed. The area of the loop projected to the plane perpendicular to the obstacles is used as a…
Equilibration of polymer melts containing highly entangled long polymer chains in confinement or with free surfaces is a challenge for computer simulations. We approach this problem by first studying polymer melts based on the soft-sphere…
We present simulations on a binary blend of bead-spring polymer chains. The introduction of monomer size disparity yields very different relaxation times for each component of the blend. Competition between two different arrest mechanisms,…
The miscibility of polymer blends, a classical problem in polymer science, may be altered, if one or both of the component do not have chain ends. Based on the idea of {\it topological volume}, we propose a mean-field theory to clarify how…
A coarse-graining strategy for dilute and semi-dilute solutions of interacting polymers, and of colloid polymer mixtures is briefly described. Monomer degrees of freedom are traced out to derive an effective, state dependent pair potential…
Recent developments of microscopic mechanical experiments allow the manipulation of individual polymer molecules in two main ways: \textit{uniform} stretching by external forces and \textit{non-uniform} stretching by external fields. Many…
We map out the solid-state morphologies formed by model soft-pearl-necklace polymers as a function of bending stiffness $k_b$ spanning the range from fully flexible to rodlike chains. The ratio of Kuhn length to bead diameter ($l_K/r_0$)…
We investigate mutual local chain order in systems of fully flexible polymer melts in a simple generic bead-spring model. The excluded-volume interaction together with the connectivity leads to local ordering effects which are independent…