Work

Conformation and topology of cyclical star polymers

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: We study the conformation and topological properties of cyclical star polymers with f ring arms, each made of n beads. We find that the conformational properties of unlinked cyclical star polymers are compatible with those of linear star polymers with 2f arms made of n/2 beads each. This compatibility vanishes when the topology of the star, measured as the degree of linking between arms, changes. In fact, when links are allowed, we notice that the gyration radius decreases as a function of the absolute linking number |Lk| of the arms, regardless of the protocol that is employed to introduce said links. Furthermore, the internal structure of the macromolecules, as highlighted by the radial density function, changes qualitatively for large values of |Lk|.

Source: The Journal of Chemical Physics

DOI: 10.1063/5.0240486

Authors: Davide Breoni, Emanuele Locatelli, Luca Tubiana

Institutions: University of Trento, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Trento Institute for Fundamental Physics And Applications, University of Padua, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Padova

Language: English

Topic: Advanced Physical and Chemical Molecular Interactions

Subfield: Physical and Theoretical Chemistry

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca

Award: G4779843416