A Free Energy Model for the Plateau Shear Modulus in Thermosensitive Microgel Suspensions

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Bergman, Maxime, Xu, Yixuan, Díaz, José Muñéton, Chi, Zhang, Mason, Thomas G., Scheffold, Frank
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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author Bergman, Maxime
Xu, Yixuan
Díaz, José Muñéton
Chi, Zhang
Mason, Thomas G.
Scheffold, Frank
author_facet Bergman, Maxime
Xu, Yixuan
Díaz, José Muñéton
Chi, Zhang
Mason, Thomas G.
Scheffold, Frank
contents Polymer microgels exhibit intriguing macroscopic flow properties arising from their unique microscopic structure. Microgel colloids usually comprise a crosslinked polymer network with a radially decaying density profile, resulting in a dense core surrounded by a fuzzy corona. Notably, microgels synthesized from poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) are thermoresponsive, capable of adjusting their size and density profile based on temperature. Above the lower critical solution temperature ($T_\text{LCST} \sim 33$ $^\circ$C), the microgel's polymer network collapses, expulsing water through a reversible process. Conversely, below $33$ $^\circ$C, the microgel's network swells, becoming highly compressible and allowing overpacking to effective volume fractions exceeding one. Under conditions of dense packing, microgels undergo deformation in distinct stages: corona compression and faceting, interpenetration, and finally, isotropic compression. Each stage exhibits a characteristic signature in the dense microgel suspensions' yield stress and elastic modulus. Here, we introduce a model for the linear elastic shear modulus by minimizing a quasi-equilibrium free energy, encompassing all relevant energetic contributions. We validate our model by comparing its predictions to experimental results from oscillatory shear rheology tests on microgel suspensions at different densities and temperatures. Our findings demonstrate that combining macroscopic rheological measurements with the model allows for temperature-dependent characterization of polymer interaction parameters.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_07388
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Free Energy Model for the Plateau Shear Modulus in Thermosensitive Microgel Suspensions
Bergman, Maxime
Xu, Yixuan
Díaz, José Muñéton
Chi, Zhang
Mason, Thomas G.
Scheffold, Frank
Soft Condensed Matter
Polymer microgels exhibit intriguing macroscopic flow properties arising from their unique microscopic structure. Microgel colloids usually comprise a crosslinked polymer network with a radially decaying density profile, resulting in a dense core surrounded by a fuzzy corona. Notably, microgels synthesized from poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM) are thermoresponsive, capable of adjusting their size and density profile based on temperature. Above the lower critical solution temperature ($T_\text{LCST} \sim 33$ $^\circ$C), the microgel's polymer network collapses, expulsing water through a reversible process. Conversely, below $33$ $^\circ$C, the microgel's network swells, becoming highly compressible and allowing overpacking to effective volume fractions exceeding one. Under conditions of dense packing, microgels undergo deformation in distinct stages: corona compression and faceting, interpenetration, and finally, isotropic compression. Each stage exhibits a characteristic signature in the dense microgel suspensions' yield stress and elastic modulus. Here, we introduce a model for the linear elastic shear modulus by minimizing a quasi-equilibrium free energy, encompassing all relevant energetic contributions. We validate our model by comparing its predictions to experimental results from oscillatory shear rheology tests on microgel suspensions at different densities and temperatures. Our findings demonstrate that combining macroscopic rheological measurements with the model allows for temperature-dependent characterization of polymer interaction parameters.
title A Free Energy Model for the Plateau Shear Modulus in Thermosensitive Microgel Suspensions
topic Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.07388