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Self-Similar Polymer Ring Conformations Based on Elementary Loops: A Direct Observation by SANS
journal contribution
posted on 2020-03-19, 18:38 authored by Margarita Kruteva, Jürgen Allgaier, Michael Monkenbusch, Lionel Porcar, Dieter RichterWe report small angle
neutron scattering (SANS) results on very large polyethylene-oxide
(PEO) rings in the melt. Major findings are (i) the observation of
a cross over in the SANS pattern from a strong Q-dependence
at intermediate Q to a Q–2 dependence at higher Q that is independent of the
ring size. Summing up scattering amplitudes in a minimal model that
contains the ring closure and a cross over from Gaussian statistics
at short distances to more compact structures at larger distances,
we identify the cross over to occur at a distance along the ring of Ne,0 = 45 ± 2.5. We consider this finding
as a clear signature of the theoretically predicted elementary loops
that build up the ring conformation. Their size is in the range of
an entanglement strand for linear PEO melts and they are characterized
by Gaussian statistics. (ii) The chain length dependence of the radius
of gyration Rg follows rather closely
the prediction of Obukhov’s decorated ring model. (iii) Other
than extracted from numerous simulations that are interpreted in terms
of a cross over to mass fractal behavior around N ≅ 10Ne,0 with a fractal dimension df = 3 and exponent ν = 1/3, we do not
observe such a cross over, but Rg(N) ∼ Nν=0.39 holds
over the entire size range.