Neutral polymer slow mode may signify an incipient growth-frustrated domain-forming glass.
Kivelson, et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 101, 2391 (1994)] propose a model for glass-forming liquids based on the potential existence of frustration-limited structures. Frustration-limited structures are equilibrium supramolecular assemblages. The maximum size of an assemblage is limited by geometric constraints. Here I propose that the "slow mode" found in the quasielastic light scattering spectra of some but not all neutral polymer solutions corresponds to the presence of an incipient growth-frustrated domain-forming glass in these solutions. A physical picture is proposed for the origin of frustration in polymer solutions.
Phillies
George D J
GD
Department of Physics, Worcester Polytechnic Institute,Worcester, Massachusetts 01609, USA. phillies@wpi.edu