Monte Carlo simulations on the cubic lattice were used to investigate how the functions describing the concentration-dependent size of macromolecular solutes are affected when the usual, low-molecular-weight ('monomeric') solvent is replaced by a chain-like 'polymeric' solvent. The simulations confirm the expected trend of coil shrinkage with the increase of solute volume fraction qk Remarkably, however, only a minor difference was found between the monomeric and polymeric solvents in the concentration dependence of the expansion coefficient ct. The double logarithmic plot of the function ~2 versus & in the range of semidilute solutions gives a value of exponent y ~ -0.24 for both types of solvents, which is in good accord with the arguments of the mean-field and scaling theories. In contrast to the concentration dependence of ~, the chain-like character of the solvent has a considerable effect on the variation of the expansion coefficient with the solvent quality given, for example, by the Z parameter
Посилання на статтю:
Variation of the chain dimensions with the concentration and quality of the monomer and polymer solvent / Peter Cifra* and Tomas Bleha // Polymer. – 1993. – Vol 34. – P. 4924-4929.