Polarizable polymer chain under external electric field: Effects of many-body electrostatic dipole correlations

TL;DR

This paper develops a self-consistent field theory for polarizable flexible polymer chains under external electric fields, highlighting the importance of many-body electrostatic dipole correlations in the globule-coil transition.

Contribution

It introduces a new theoretical framework that accounts for many-body electrostatic dipole correlations in polarizable polymers under electric fields.

Findings

Electrostatic dipole correlations significantly influence the globule-coil transition.

Pairwise correlations suffice in the coil state, but many-body effects are essential in the collapsed state.

The theory predicts how external electric fields induce conformational changes in polarizable polymers.

Abstract

We present a new simple self-consistent field theory of the polarizable flexible polymer chain under the external constant electric field with account for the many-body electrostatic dipole correlations. We show the effect of electrostatic dipole correlations on the electric field-induced globule-coil transition. We demonstrate that only when the polymer chain is in the coil conformation, the electrostatic dipole correlations of monomers can be considered as pairwise. However, when the polymer chain is in collapsed state, the dipole correlations have to be considered at the many-body level.