Influence of Molecular Solvation on the Conformation of Star Polymers
Xin Li, Lionel Porcar, Luis E. S\'anchez-Di\'az, Changwoo Do, Yun Liu,, Tae-Hwan Kim, Gregory S. Smith, William A. Hamilton, Kunlun Hong, and Wei-Ren, Chen
TL;DR
This study uses neutron scattering to explore how solvent interactions affect the shape and internal structure of star polymers, revealing a link between desolvation and polymer folding.
Contribution
It introduces a novel neutron scattering method to analyze solvent distribution within star polymers and uncovers a thermodynamic analogy with hydrophobic collapse.
Findings
Desolvation correlates with inward folding of star branches
Solvent depletion drives polymer localization
Thermodynamic analogy with hydrophobic collapse
Abstract
We have used neutron scattering to investigate the influence of concentration on the conformation of a star polymer. By varying the contrast between the solvent and isotopically labeled stars, we obtain the distributions of polymer and solvent within a star polymer from analysis of scattering data. A correlation between the local desolvation and the inward folding of star branches is discovered. From the perspective of thermodynamics, we find an analogy between the mechanism of polymer localization driven by solvent depletion and that of the hydrophobic collapse of polymers in solutions.
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Taxonomy
TopicsAdvanced Physical and Chemical Molecular Interactions