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CPP: Fachverband Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik
CPP 1: Gels, Polymers Networks and Elastomers I
CPP 1.5: Vortrag
Montag, 17. März 2025, 10:45–11:00, H34
Phase separation in elastic polymer networks — •Takahiro Yokoyama1,2, Yicheng Qiang3, Chengjie Luo3, Oliver Paulin3, David Zwicker3, and Arash Nikoubashman1,2 — 1Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., Dresden, Germany — 2Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany — 3Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, Göttingen, Germany
Phase separation in polymer networks, from synthetic gels to biopolymer networks, significantly influences their structural and mechanical properties. While previous studies suggest that network mechanics regulate phase separation of the network itself and the embedded (complex) liquid, the fundamental principles governing this interaction remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the phase behavior of elastic polymer networks. We systematically changed the quality of the (implicit) solvent, polymer chain length, and polymer flexibility. Our simulations identified two distinct phase separation behaviors depending on the polymer flexibility: macrophase separation into a polymer-rich and polymer-poor region for flexible polymer chains, and microphase separation with finite-sized pores for networks formed by semi-flexible chains. For the latter systems, we found that the pore size decreased with increasing chain stiffness. Furthermore, the network elasticity increased with decreasing pore size, following a power law as recently proposed by field theory. This study highlights the importance of polymer stiffness in shaping the size and distribution of (biomolecular) droplets within elastic networks.
Keywords: Phase separation; Elastic polymer networks; Semi-flexible chains