Influence of short-range interactions on the shape of an unperturbed polymer chain: polyethylene

Abstract

The average instantaneous shape of an unperturbed polyethylene chain is studied with a Monte Carlo technique. Different short-range interactions in the polyethylene chain are considered. The shape is evaluated as the ratio : : , where L 1 ≤ L 2 ≤ L 3 are the orthogonal components in the system of principal axes of gyration. Differences are found for different interactions in short- and medium-length chains, while for long chains all ratios converge to a common limit, which is about 1:2.7: 12.0 for polyethylene chains.