Local Chain Segregation and Entanglements in a Confined Polymer Melt

Nam-Kyung Lee, Diddo Diddens, Hendrik Meyer, and Albert Johner
Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 067802 – Published 8 February 2017
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Abstract

The reptation mechanism, introduced by de Gennes and Edwards, where a polymer diffuses along a fluffy tube, defined by the constraints imposed by its surroundings, convincingly describes the relaxation of long polymers in concentrated solutions and melts. We propose that the scale for the tube diameter is set by local chain segregation, which we study analytically. We show that the concept of local segregation is especially operational for confined geometries, where segregation extends over mesoscopic domains, drastically reducing binary contacts, and provide an estimate of the entanglement length. Our predictions are quantitatively supported by extensive molecular dynamics simulations on systems consisting of long, entangled chains.

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  • Received 29 January 2016

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.067802

© 2017 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Polymers & Soft Matter

Authors & Affiliations

Nam-Kyung Lee1,2, Diddo Diddens2, Hendrik Meyer2, and Albert Johner1,2

  • 1Institute of Fundamental Physics, Department of Physics, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Korea
  • 2Institut Charles Sadron, Université de Strasbourg, CNRS UPR22, 23 rue du Loess 67034, Strasbourg cedex 2, France

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Issue

Vol. 118, Iss. 6 — 10 February 2017

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