Distributions of the unperturbed dimensions of Markov-chain copolymers

✍ Scribed by Bernd Jung

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 509 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1022-1344
• DOI: 10.1002/mats.1995.040040405

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

This investigation shows that Markov‐chain copolymers can be regarded as random copolymers the segment lengths of which depend on the copolymerization parameters. It was possible to derive simple analytical formulae for the mean‐square end‐to‐end distance (〈r^2^〉), the Kuhn length, and the distribution of r^2^ under theta‐conditions. The results of these equations are in excellent agreement with data from simulations. It is shown that 〈r^2^〉 as well as the non‐uniformity of r^2^ increase strongly with increasing probabilities of homopropagation, i.e., with increasing mean homosequence lengths. Furthermore it is demonstrated by simulation that even chains of identical length and composition show a distribution of r^2^ because of different arrangements of the sequences inside the chains. For chains or chain segments shorter than the average homosequences, a double‐peak distribution of r^2^ is found. The equations derived in this paper can be applied to real copolymers as well as to chains the curvature of which is altered locally by the association of ligands.