Polymers in a vacuum

Correlation functions of main-chain polymer nematics constrained by tensorial and vectorial conservation laws

We present and analyze correlation functions of a main-chain polymer nematic in a continuum worm-like chain description for two types of constraints formalized by the tensorial and vectorial conservation laws, both originating in the microscopic chain integrity, i.e., the conectivity of the polymer chains. In particular, our aim is to identify the features of the correlation functions that are most susceptible to the differences between the two constraints. Besides the density and director autocorrelations in both the tensorial and vectorial cases, we calculate also the density -- director cor…

Scale-free center-of-mass displacement correlations in dense polymer solutions and melts without topological constraints and momentum conservation: A bond-fluctuation model study

By Monte Carlo simulations of a variant of the bond-fluctuation model without topological constraints we examine the center-of-mass (COM) dynamics of polymer melts in $d=3$ dimensions. Our analysis focuses on the COM displacement correlation function $\CN(t) \approx \partial_t^2 \MSDcmN(t)/2$, measuring the curvature of the COM mean-square displacement $\MSDcmN(t)$. We demonstrate that $\CN(t) \approx -(\RN/\TN)^2 (\rhostar/ρ) \ f(x=t/\TN)$ with $N$ being the chain length ($16 \le N \le 8192$), $\RN\sim N^{1/2}$ the typical chain size, $\TN\sim N^2$ the longest chain relaxation time, $ρ$ the m…

Pore-blockade Times for Field-Driven Polymer Translocation

We study pore blockade times for a translocating polymer of length $N$, driven by a field $E$ across the pore in three dimensions. The polymer performs Rouse dynamics, i.e., we consider polymer dynamics in the absence of hydrodynamical interactions. We find that the typical time the pore remains blocked during a translocation event scales as $\sim N^{(1+2ν)/(1+ν)}/E$, where $ν\simeq0.588$ is the Flory exponent for the polymer. In line with our previous work, we show that this scaling behaviour stems from the polymer dynamics at the immediate vicinity of the pore -- in particular, the memory ef…

Conserved Linking in Single- and Double-Stranded Polymers

We demonstrate a variant of the Bond Fluctuation lattice Monte Carlo model in which moves through cis conformations are forbidden. Ring polymers in this model have a conserved quantity that amounts to a topological linking number. Increased linking number reduces the radius of gyration mildly. A linking number of order 0.2 per bond leads to an eight-percent reduction of the radius for 128-bond chains. This percentage appears to rise with increasing chain length, contrary to expectation. For ring chains evolving without the conservation of linking number, we demonstrate a substantial anti-corre…

Strongly nonlinear wave dynamics in a chain of polymer coated beads

Strongly nonlinear phononic crystals were assembled from a chain of Parylene-C coated steel spheres in a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) holder. This system exhibits strongly nonlinear properties and extends the range of materials supporting "sonic vacuum" type behavior. The combination of a high density core and a soft (low elastic modulus) coating ensures a relatively low velocity of wave propagation. The beads contact interaction caused by the deformation of the Parylene coating can be described as classical nonlinear Hertz theory despite the viscoelastic nature of the polymer and the high s…

Strongly nonlinear waves in a chain of Teflon beads

One dimensional "sonic vacuum" type phononic crystals were assembled from a chain of Teflon spheres with different diameters in a Teflon holder. It was demonstrated for the first time that this polymer-based "sonic vacuum", with exceptionally low elastic modulus of particles, supports propagation of strongly nonlinear solitary waves with a very low speed.

Study of Structural Evolution During Controlled Degradation of Ultrathin Polymer Films

The structural aspects of polyacrylamide thin films annealed at degradation threshold temperature have been studied as a function of annealing time using in situ X-ray reflectivity technique in vacuum. We observe significant decrease of thickness and increase of density with annealing time for all the films. The dynamical behavior of the changes was modeled in terms of two distinct exponential decay functions, following our earlier observation of two different time scales for the chemical modification pathways, and was found to be in excellent agreement with the data. The diffusion coefficient…

聚(3-己基噻吩)在Au(111)表面构象变化受退火影响

Alterations in Conformations of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) on Au(111) Induced by Annealing

研究聚(3-己基噻吩)链在Au(111)表面能量景观中的行为，退火温度影响链构象，通过热能与表面拓扑调控聚合物结构。