Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: Single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) are a new class of bio- and soft-matter polymeric objects in which a fraction of the monomers are able to form equivalently intra- or interpolymer bonds. Here we numerically show that a fully entropic gas-liquid phase separation can take place in SCNP systems. Control over the discontinuous (first-order) change-from a phase of independent diluted (fully-bonded) polymers to a phase in which polymers entropically bind to each other to form a (fully-bonded) polymer network-can be achieved by a judicious design of the patterns of reactive monomers along the polymer chain. Such a sensitivity arises from a delicate balance between the distinct entropic contributions controlling the binding.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Authors: Lorenzo Rovigatti, Francesco Sciortino
Institution: Sapienza University of Rome
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Award: SOFT ADAPTIVE NETWORKS
OpenAlex ID: W4286001710