Structures and interactions between two colloidal particles in adsorptive polymer solutions

Single Chain Mean-Field Theory Study on Responsive Behavior of Semiflexible Polymer Brush

The application of single chain mean-field theory (SCMFT) on semiflexible chain brushes is reviewed. The worm-like chain (WLC) model is the best mode of semiflexible chain that can continuously recover to the rigid rod model and Gaussian chain (GC) model in rigid and flexible limits, respectively. Compared with the commonly used GC model, SCMFT is more applicable to the WLC model because the algorithmic complexity of the WLC model is much higher than that of the GC model in self-consistent field theory (SCFT). On the contrary, the algorithmic complexity of both models in SCMFT are comparable. In SCMFT, the ensemble average of quantities is obtained by sampling the conformations of a single chain or multi-chains in the external auxiliary field instead of solving the modified diffuse equation (MDE) in SCFT. The precision of this calculation is controlled by the number of bonds Nm used to discretize the chain contour length L and the number of conformations M used in the ensemble average. The latter factor can be well controlled by metropolis Monte Carlo simulation. This approach can be easily generalized to solve problems with complex boundary conditions or in high-dimensional systems, which were once nightmares when solving MDEs in SCFT. Moreover, the calculations in SCMFT mainly relate to the assemble averages of chain conformations, for which a portion of conformations can be performed parallel on different computing cores using a message-passing interface (MPI).

Effects of attractive colloids on the phase separation behaviors of binary polymer blends

The attractive colloids are added as fillers to control the phase behaviors of binary polymer blends. Because the colloids attract both components in the blends, aggregates are formed by the colloids coated with both kinds of polymer brushes. The aggregation results in two contradictory effects on the phase separation. First, the formation of aggregate decreases the translational entropy, which promotes the phase separation. On the other hand, the phase separation causes the extra free energy penalty due to the stretch of the chains attaching on the colloids, which prevents the phase separation. Furthermore, as the concentration or adsorbability of the colloids increases the local fluctuations within the aggregates become important. This results in a transition from the macro-phase separation to the micro-phase separation and the existence of the Lifshitz point. All of these effects lead to diverse phase behaviors in the polymer nanocomposites system. In present work, these behaviors are studied theoretically by the random phase approximation in a model system.