Issue 26, 2024

Activity-induced stiffness, entanglement network and dynamic slowdown in unentangled semidilute polymer solutions

Abstract

Active polymers possess numerous unique properties that are quite different from those observed in the system of small active molecules due to the intricate interplay between their activity and topological constraints. This study focuses on the conformational changes induced by activity, impacting effective stiffness and crucially influencing entanglement and dynamics. When the two terminals of a linear chain undergo active modification through coupling to a high-temperature thermal bath, there is a substantial increase in chain size, indicating a notable enhancement in effective stiffness. Unlike in passive semiflexible chains where stiffness predominantly affects local bond angles, activity-induced stiffness manifests at the scale of tens of monomers. While activity raises the ambient temperature, it significantly decreases diffusion by over an order of magnitude. The slowdown of the dynamics observed can be attributed to increased entanglement due to chain elongation.

Graphical abstract: Activity-induced stiffness, entanglement network and dynamic slowdown in unentangled semidilute polymer solutions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Mar 2024
Accepted
08 Jun 2024
First published
11 Jun 2024

Soft Matter, 2024,20, 5174-5182

Activity-induced stiffness, entanglement network and dynamic slowdown in unentangled semidilute polymer solutions

J. Li, B. Zhang and Z. Wang, Soft Matter, 2024, 20, 5174 DOI: 10.1039/D4SM00341A

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