DOI:10.5488/CMP.25.23302 arXiv:2111.01541
Title:
Swelling of asymmetric pom-pom polymers in dilute solutions
Author(s):
K. Haydukivska
(Institute for Condensed Matter Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 1 Svientsitskii Str., 79011, Lviv, Ukraine; Institute of Physics, University of Silesia,
75 Pułku Piechoty 1, 41-500 Chorzéw, Poland),
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O. Kalyuzhnyi
(Institute for Condensed Matter Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 1 Svientsitskii Str., 79011, Lviv, Ukraine),
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V. Blavatska
(Institute for Condensed Matter Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 1 Svientsitskii Str., 79011, Lviv, Ukraine; Dioscuri Centre for Physics and Chemistry of Bacteria),
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J. Ilnytskyi
(Institute for Condensed Matter Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 1 Svientsitskii Str., 79011, Lviv, Ukraine; National University Lviv Politechnic, 12 Bandera Str, 79000, Lviv, Ukraine)
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In this paper we continue our recent analysis [K. Haydukivska et al., J. Mol. Liq., 2021, 328, 115456] of complex molecules with two branching points at both ends of the linear backbone with f1 and f2 side arms starting from them, known as the pom-pom polymers. Here, we analyze the asymmetric case, f1 ≠ f2, by applying both the analytical approach, based on the direct polymer renormalization, and computer simulations using both dissipative particle dynamics and Monte Carlo methods. We study the role played by the molecular asymmetry of average polymer conformations, considering the infinite dilution regime and good solvent conditions.The quantitative estimates are reported for the set of universal size and shape characteristics of such molecules and for their individual branches, all the functions of f1 and f2. In particular, we evaluate the size ratio of the gyration radii of symmetric and asymmetric pom-pom topologies with the same molecular weight and quantitatively reveal an increase of the effective size of a molecule caused by its asymmetry. We also introduce and analyse the asymmetry factor and estimate the shift of the center of mass caused by the presence of side stars, which can serve as another characteristic of the asymmetry of pom-pom structure.
Key words: polymers, shape characteristics, continuous chain model, dissipative particle dynamics
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