Protruding chain at a sharp penetrable interface

Abstract

AbstractA single protruding chain at a sharp discontinuity of the quality of the surrounding medium was shown by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations to be a good model representing semiquantitatively the major macroscopic features of polymer interfaces such as the interface thickness. This is in accord with early original theoretical suggestions. Compared to multichain simulations of a polymer/polymer interface it is clear that the protruding chain is not completely adequate to represent a diffuse multichain interface. The results on a protruding chain, however, indicate the proper interfacial thickness as obtained by MC simulations in multichain systems. The microscopic results (such as deformation, orientation of coils at the interface and chain end segregation into the interface) are similar to those obtained in multichain polymer interfaces. None of the investigated interface properties exhibits a dependence on the total chain length of the protruding chain.