Conformational free energy of melts of ring-linear polymer blends.
The conformational free energy of ring polymers in a blend of ring and linear polymers is investigated using the bond-fluctuation model. Previously established scaling relationships for the free energy of a ring polymer are shown to be valid only in the mean-field sense, and alternative functional forms are investigated. It is shown that it may be difficult to accurately express the total free energy of a ring polymer by a simple scaling argument, or in closed form.
Subramanian
Gopinath
G
Scientific Computation Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180-3590, USA. gsub@scorec.rpi.edu
Shanbhag
Sachin
S