Steady-State Luminescence of Polymers: Effects of Flow and of Hydrodynamic Interactions

TL;DR

This paper models steady-state luminescence in polymers, examining how flow and hydrodynamic interactions influence luminescence intensity through numerical simulations of Rouse chains.

Contribution

It introduces a numerical model for polymer luminescence considering hydrodynamic interactions and flow effects, providing insights into their impact on luminescence behavior.

Findings

Luminescence depends on hydrodynamic interactions and shear rate.

Hydrodynamic interactions modulate luminescence intensity.

Flow conditions significantly influence energy transfer in polymers.

Abstract

We consider a simple model for steady-state luminescence of single polymer chains in a dilute solution in the case when excitation quenching is due to energy transfer between a donor and an acceptor attached to the ends of the chain. We present numerical results for Rouse chains without or with hydrodynamic interactions, which are taken into account in a perturbative manner. We consider the situations of a quiescent solvent as well as the chain in a shear flow and discuss the dependence of the steady-state luminescence intensity on the strength of hydrodynamic interaction and on the shear rate in the flow.