title: Lattice model of linear telechelic polymer melts. I. Inclusion of chain semiflexibility in the lattice cluster theory.
abstract: The lattice cluster theory (LCT) for the thermodynamics of polymer systems has recently been reformulated to treat strongly interacting self-assembling polymers composed of fully flexible linear telechelic chains [J. Dudowicz and K. F. Freed, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 064902 (2012)]. Here, we further extend the LCT for linear telechelic polymer melts to include a description of chain semiflexibility, which is treated by introducing a bending energy penalty whenever a pair of consecutive bonds from a single chain lies along orthogonal directions. An analytical expression for the Helmholtz free energy is derived for the model of semiflexible linear telechelic polymer melts. The extension provides a theoretical tool for investigating the influence of chain stiffness on the thermodynamics of self-assembling telechelic polymers, and for further exploring the influence of self-assembly on glass formation in such systems.
authors.affiliation: James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Wen-Sheng
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
authors.forename: Karl F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Freed