Coarse-grained theory on topological effects of entangled polymer systems

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24654134
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Biophysics/Chemical physics
• Research Institution: Tohoku University
• Principal Investigator: KAWAKATSU Toshihiro 東北大学, 理学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (20214596)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): OYA Yutaka 東北大学, 大学院理学研究科, 研究支援者 (60735554)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 絡み合い高分子 / トポロジー / 自己無撞着場理論 / 環状高分子

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Equilibrium and dynamic properties of highly entangled polymer systems are studied by self-consistent field(SCF) theory. We introduced vector and tensor order parameters into SCF theory so that we can describe non-equilibrium bond distribution. By evaluating the tensor order parameter using perturbation expansion, we succeeded in reproducing rheological properties of mesophases of entangled block copolymers. We then applied this SCF theory to ring polymer melts, where the topological invariant is included. As the convergence of the iteration procedure was very poor, we developed a new algorithm to solve this SCF equation.

Free Research Field

高分子の統計物理学