Extension of lattice cluster theory to strongly interacting, self-assembling polymeric systems.
A new extension of the lattice cluster theory is developed to describe the influence of monomer structure and local correlations on the free energy of strongly interacting and self-assembling polymer systems. This extension combines a systematic high dimension (1/d) and high temperature expansion (that is appropriate for weakly interacting systems) with a direct treatment of strong interactions. The general theory is illustrated for a binary polymer blend whose two components contain "sticky" donor and acceptor groups, respectively. The free energy is determined as an explicit function of the donor-acceptor contact probabilities that depend, in turn, on the local structure and both the strong and weak interactions.
Freed
Karl F
KF
James Franck Institute and Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. k-freed@uchicago.edu