Thermodynamic studies of semiflexible copolymers using field theory and molecular simulations
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Polymers are big molecules consisting of repeating chemical units. Polymeric self assembly is critical in many biological processes and materials applications. Biomolecules such as protein, lipid, and DNA all require structural organizations to accomplish biological functions. Performances of polymer materials also rely on their microscale structures. These microstructures form due to the interactions between the different chemical units. Most of our knowledge of macromolecular phase behavior is based on a Gaussian chain model which models polymer configurations as random walks. However, such model is challenged in many biological and experimental systems. When working with low-molecular-weight polymers, stiff polymers (such as DNA, and conjugated polymers), or random copolymers which phase segregate on monomer length scales, chain semiflexibility plays a critical role in determining the polymeric microstructures. Towards this goal, we develop theories and simulations that study the phase behavior of semiflexible copolymers. We will discuss the impact of finite chain rigidity on phase transition temperatures, domain sizes, and microstructures of diblock copolymers and random copolymers. We show that polymer semiflexibility has strong impacts on the collective equilibrium behaviors of copolymers.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2017 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Mao, Shifan |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Chemical Engineering. |
| Primary advisor | Spakowitz, Andrew James |
| Thesis advisor | Spakowitz, Andrew James |
| Thesis advisor | Frank, C. W |
| Thesis advisor | Toney, Michael Folsom |
| Advisor | Frank, C. W |
| Advisor | Toney, Michael Folsom |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Shifan Mao. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Chemical Engineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2017. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2017 by Shifan Mao
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...