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When does a branched polymer becomes a particle?

Published

Author(s)

Alexandros Chremos, Jack F. Douglas

Abstract

Melts with topologically distinct molecular structures are investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. We determine the mean polymer size and shape, and glass transition temperature for each molecular topology. Both in terms of structure and dynamics, ring polymers behave similarly to star polymers with f = 5 to 6 arms, close to the transition point between anisotropic chains to spherically symmetric particle-like structure. These findings raise fundamental questions regarding the importance of free chain-ends and chain topology in the packing and dynamics of polymeric materials.
Citation
The Journal of Chemical Physics
Volume
143

Keywords

star polymers, ring polymers, molecular topology, polymer melt dynamics, polymer shape and size, polymer-particle transition

Citation

Chremos, A. and Douglas, J. (2015), When does a branched polymer becomes a particle?, The Journal of Chemical Physics (Accessed March 29, 2024)
Created September 16, 2015, Updated October 12, 2021