Abstract
As an object becomes smaller than the size of a polymer molecule, the friction it experiences in a polymer melt may be altered from the friction on a macroscopic object. These mesoscopic dynamics are unique to polymeric solvents. The mechanisms causing this effect and the transition from smallmolecule to polymer-like behavior have been explored by using the rotation time of anthracene as a measure of nanoscale friction in liquids. The viscosity experienced by anthracene molecules is determined as a function of polymer chain length over the range from the dimer to the entangled polymer. The nanoviscosities in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) and poly(isobutylene) (PIB) develop very differently as a function of chain length, despite similar static structures of the polymers. These results are attributed to higher torsional barriers in PIB than in PDMS. We suggest that a dynamic length scale is important in determining the friction experienced by mesoscopic particles in polymers.
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