Analytical and Numerical Investigation of Star Polymers in Confined Geometries
Autor
Danel, Zoriana
Halun, Joanna
Karbowniczek, Pawel
Opublikowane w
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Numeracja
Vol. 25(17), 956
Data wydania
2024 -
Miejsce wydania
Basel, Switzerland
Wydawca
MDPI
Język
angielski
ISSN
1422-0067
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25179561
Słowa kluczowe
critical phenomena, soft matter, surface effect, polymers, field theory
Abstrakt
The analysis of the impact of the star polymer topology on depletion interaction potentials,depletion forces, and monomer density profiles is carried out analytically using field theory methodsand techniques as well as molecular dynamic simulations. The dimensionless depletion interactionpotentials and the dimensionless depletion forces for a dilute solution of ideal star polymers withthree and five legs (arms) in a Θ–solvent confined in a slit between two parallel walls with repulsivesurfaces and for the case where one of the surfaces is repulsive and the other inert are obtained.Furthermore, the dimensionless layer monomer density profiles for ideal star polymers with an oddnumber ( ˜ f = 3, 5) of arms immersed in a dilute solution of big colloidal particles with differentadsorbing or repelling properties in respect of polymers are calculated, bearing in mind the Derjaguinapproximation. Molecular dynamic simulations of a dilute solution of star-shaped polymers in agood solvent with N = 901 (3 × 300 + 1 -star polymer with three arms) and 1501 (5 × 300 + 1 -starpolymer with five arms) beads accordingly confined in a slit with different boundary conditionsare performed, and the results of the monomer density profiles for the above-mentioned cases areobtained. The numerical calculation of the radius of gyration for star polymers with ˜ f = 3, 5 armsand the ratio of the perpendicular to parallel components of the radius of gyration with respectto the wall orientation for the above-mentioned cases is performed. The obtained analytical andnumerical results for star polymers with an odd number ( ˜ f = 3, 5) of arms are compared with ourprevious results for linear polymers in confined geometries. The acquired results show that a dilutesolution of star polymer chains can be applied in the production of new functional materials, becausethe behavior of these solutions is strictly correlated with the topology of polymers and also withthe nature and geometry of confined surfaces. The above-mentioned properties can find extensivepractical application in materials engineering, as well as in biotechnology and medicine for drug andgene transmission.
