Berlin 2001 – scientific programme

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CPP: Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 18: Poster: Polymer Blends, Heterogeneous Systems, Colloids and Nanoparticles, Interfaces, Polyelectrolytes

CPP 18.9: Poster

Wednesday, April 4, 2001, 12:30–15:00, AT1

Self-similar chain conformations in polymer gels — •Ralf Everaers, Mathias Pütz, and Kurt Kremer — Max-Planck-Institut für Polymerforschung, Postfach 3148, D-55021 Mainz, German

We use molecular dynamics simulations to study the swelling of randomly end-cross-linked polymer networks in good solvent conditions. We find that the equilibrium degree of swelling saturates at Q_eq≈ N_e^3/5 for mean strand lengths N_s exceeding the melt entanglement length N_e. The internal structure of the network strands in the swollen state is characterized by a new exponent ν=0.72±0.02. Our findings can be rationalized by a simple Flory argument for a self-similar structure of mutually interpenetrating network strands, agree partially with the classical Flory-Rehner theory and are in contradiction to de Gennes’ c^∗-theorem.

M. Pütz, K. Kremer and R. Everaers, Phys. Rev. Lett. 84, 298 (2000)