Equation of State and Miscibility Behavior of Compressible Binary Lattice Polymers. A Monte Carlo Study and Comparison with Partition Function Theories

Effect of End Groups on the Cloud Point Temperature of Aqueous Solutions of Thermoresponsive Polymers: An Inside View by Flory-Huggins Theory

In an effort to gain insight into the origin of the effects of end groups on the cloud point temperature (Tcp) as a function of the polymer molar mass of thermoresponsive polymers with lower critical solution behavior in dilute aqueous solutions, we use the Flory-Huggins (FH) theory amended for end groups. The theory was applied to available experimental data sets of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), poly(4-vinylbenzyl methoxytris(oxyethylene) ether) (PTEGSt), and poly(α-hydro-ω-(4-vinylbenzyl)tetrakis(oxyethylene) ether) (PHTrEGSt). The theory relates the variations in TcpM,ϕcp for different end groups to the effective FH χ parameter of the end groups and explains the qualitative notion that the influence of the end groups is related to the hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity of the end groups relative to that of the so called intrinsic TcpM,ϕcp response of a polymer without end groups. The limits to the applicability of the FH theory are established, and a set of possible theoretical improvements is considered. The ultimate scrutiny of the simple FH theory and suggested improved theories must await the measurement of truly thermodynamic cloud points; the available cloud points are merely estimations of the thermodynamic cloud point, for which the deviation to the true cloud point cannot be established with sufficient accuracy.

Constant-pressure simulations with dissipative particle dynamics

Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) is a mesoscopic simulation method for studying hydrodynamic behavior of complex fluids. Ideally, a mesoscopic model should correctly represent the thermodynamic and hydrodynamic properties of a real system beyond certain length and time scales. Traditionally defined DPD quite successfully mimics hydrodynamics but is not flexible enough to accurately describe the thermodynamics of a real system. The so-called multibody DPD (MDPD) is a pragmatic extension of the classical DPD that allows one to prescribe the thermodynamic behavior of a system with only a small performance impact. In an earlier paper [S. Y. Trofimov, E. L. F. Nies, and M. A. J. Michels, J. Chem. Phys. 117, 9383 (2002)] we much improved the accuracy of the MDPD model for strongly nonideal systems, which are of most practical interest. The ability to correctly reproduce the equation of state of realistic systems in turn makes simulations at constant pressure sensible and useful. This situation of constant-pressure conditions is very common in experimental studies of (soft) condensed matter but has so far remained unexplored with the traditional DPD. Here, as a proof of concept, we integrate a modified version of the Andersen barostat into our improved MDPD model and make an evaluation of the performance of the new model on a set of single- and multicomponent systems. The modification of the barostat suppresses the "unphysical" volume oscillations after a sudden pressure change and simplifies the equilibration of the system.