Equilibrium swelling and universal ratios in dilute polymer solutions: Exact Brownian dynamics simulations for a delta function excluded volume potential

TL;DR

This study uses Brownian dynamics simulations with a narrow Gaussian potential approaching a delta function to explore universal effects of excluded volume interactions on dilute polymer solutions' equilibrium and viscoelastic properties.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic simulation approach to predict universal properties of dilute polymer solutions considering solvent quality effects.

Findings

Predicted universal ratios in dilute polymer solutions.

Validated the simulation method against known static properties.

Provided insights into solvent quality influence on polymer behavior.

Abstract

A narrow Gaussian excluded volume potential, which tends to a delta-function repulsive potential in the limit of a width parameter d* going to zero, has been used to examine the universal consequences of excluded volume interactions on the equilibrium and linear viscoelastic properties of dilute polymer solutions. Brownian dynamics simulations data, acquired for chains of finite length, has been extrapolated to the limit of infinite chain length to obtain model independent predictions. The success of the method in predicting well known aspects of static solution properties suggests that it can be used as a systematic means by which the influence of solvent quality on both equilibrium and non-equilibrium properties can be studied.