Branched polymers in restricted geometry : Flory theory, scaling and blobs

The behavior of microgels near surfaces and their adsorption is studied by simple scaling theory. Two different types of microgels can be studied, i.e., fractal type microgels and randomly crosslinked polymer chains. In the first case the gel can be described mainly by introducing a spectral dimension. The second type requires more attention and uses the number of crosslinks as parameter. The main result is that soft gels with weakly coupled crosslinks and a low number of crosslinks adsorb much better than hard gels, with many crosslinks. Similar results for fractal gels and branched polymer are presented. Fractal gels with low connectivity adsorb easier than gels with a large connectivity dimension. We discuss also consequences on surface protection by microgels. PACS: 36.20Ey, 82.70.Gg,

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“…It is given by R ≃ H(a/H) 5/4 N (2+D)/4D [5]. This result is consistent with the linear SAW chain between two plates.…”

Section: Adsorption Behavior Of Self Similar Microgels General Resupporting

confidence: 86%

“…In earlier papers it has been shown by one of us, that the use of branched chains in much more effective [4][5][6]. Chains, polymers and polymeric fractals with a larger connectivity seem to be more appropriate to protect surfaces more effectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microgels and fractal structures at interfaces and surfaces

Vilgis

Stapper

1998

Eur. Phys. J. B

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“…A simple and useful approach to confined branched polymers is a Flory type of calculation, which allows us to obtain the spatial size of branched polymers in a given geometry [2,19]. First, let us define the notation in this section; N is the number of monomers in an arbitrary direction, M is the total number of monomers in a given polymer.…”

Section: A Criterion For the Confinement Regimementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Starting from the generalized Edwards Hamiltonian for the cluster with arbitrary connectivity, the corresponding mean-field Flory free energy is expressed as [2,19] …”

Section: A Criterion For the Confinement Regimementioning

confidence: 99%

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Polymer Chains in Confined Spaces and Flow-Injection Problems: Some Remarks

2006

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We revisit the classical problem of the behavior of an isolated linear polymer chain in confined spaces, introducing the distinction between two different confinement regimes (the weak and the strong confinement regimes, respectively). We then discuss some recent experimental findings concerning the partitioning of individual polymers into protein pores. We also generalize our study to the case of branched polymers, and study the flow-injection properties of such objects into nanoscopic pores, for which the strong confinement regime plays an important role.

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