Interplay between self-assembly and phase separation in a polymer-complex model

Fuente: arXiv
Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Li, Tianhao, Rogers, W. Benjamin, Jacobs, William M.
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
_version_ 1866910546233655296
author Li, Tianhao
Rogers, W. Benjamin
Jacobs, William M.
author_facet Li, Tianhao
Rogers, W. Benjamin
Jacobs, William M.
contents We present a theoretical model for predicting the phase behavior of polymer solutions in which phase separation competes with oligomerization. Specifically, we consider scenarios in which the assembly of polymer chains into stoichiometric complexes prevents the chains from phase-separating via attractive polymer-polymer interactions. Combining statistical associating fluid theory with a two-state description of self-assembly, we find that this model exhibits rich phase behavior, including re-entrance, and we show how system-specific phase diagrams can be derived graphically. Importantly, we discuss why these phase diagrams can resemble -- and yet are qualitatively distinct from -- phase diagrams of polymer solutions with lower critical solution temperatures.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2306_13198
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Interplay between self-assembly and phase separation in a polymer-complex model
Li, Tianhao
Rogers, W. Benjamin
Jacobs, William M.
Soft Condensed Matter
We present a theoretical model for predicting the phase behavior of polymer solutions in which phase separation competes with oligomerization. Specifically, we consider scenarios in which the assembly of polymer chains into stoichiometric complexes prevents the chains from phase-separating via attractive polymer-polymer interactions. Combining statistical associating fluid theory with a two-state description of self-assembly, we find that this model exhibits rich phase behavior, including re-entrance, and we show how system-specific phase diagrams can be derived graphically. Importantly, we discuss why these phase diagrams can resemble -- and yet are qualitatively distinct from -- phase diagrams of polymer solutions with lower critical solution temperatures.
title Interplay between self-assembly and phase separation in a polymer-complex model
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2306.13198