The effect of topological constraint on the theta temperature of a knotted polymer
Journal
Journal of Chemical Physics
Journal Volume
118
Journal Issue
10
Pages
4748-4753
Date Issued
2003
Author(s)
Abstract
Monte Carlo simulations were used to study the effect of topological constraints of knotted polymers on their theta temperatures. The theta temperatures were determined through two different definitions—the vanishing of the second virial coefficient A2=0, and the quasi-ideal behavior of the radius of gyration, 〈Rg2〉∼N. Prime knots with chain lengths from N=60 to 300 and with crossings from 31 to 91 were considered. For chains with finite lengths, it was found that the theta temperature determined from quasi-ideal condition of the knot increases, as the complexity of the knot increases. On the other hand, the topological complexity seemed to have no effect on the theta temperatures determined from the vanishing of the second virial coefficient. Also, our simulation results suggest that for chains with finite crossing numbers, as N→∞, theta temperatures for all knots obtained from two different approaches coincide and are equivalent to that of a linear polymer chain.
Type
journal article