Dissipative Particle Dynamics Simulation of Microphase Separation and Properties of Linear–Dendritic Diblock Copolymer Melts under Steady Shear Flow

Abstract

Summary: Dissipative particle dynamic simulations were performed on the microphase separation, end‐to‐end distance, and shear viscosity of linear–dendritic diblock copolymers under steady shear flow. The results show that their microstructure and properties depend on both the shear rate and the degree of branching, and they can incorporate the characteristics of both linear and dendritic polymers to lead to new materials with unique properties.Schematic structure for the linear‐dendritic copolymer G4 described in this work.imageSchematic structure for the linear‐dendritic copolymer G4 described in this work.

Understanding Multicompartment Micelles Using Dissipative Particle Dynamics Simulation

“…Recently, this method has been successfully used to study the microstructure and properties of polymers in the bulk state and in solvent. [31][32][33][34][35][36][37] In the DPD method, a series of soft particles are considered interacting with each other and each particle represents a small volume of fluid containing many atoms. Although various DPD methods have been proposed, we will focus on the one introduced by Groot and co-workers.…”

Novel Two‐Compartment Micelles Formed by Self‐Assembly of Linear Pentablock Copolymers in Selective Solvents

“…In this work, we firstly performed DPD simulations and compared the results with the experimental observations of Thünemann et al [10] to validate its reliability for describing two-compartment micelles, although it has been validated in our previous work for studying the self-assembly of block copolymer melts, [27,28] and the formation of multicompartment micelles from star triblock copolymers in water. [11] Thünemann et al synthesized a symmetric linear ABCBA pentablock copolymer consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) (A block), poly (g-benzyl L-glutamate) (B block), and a poly(perfluoro ether) (C block).…”

“…It enables the study of systems over larger length and time scales than classical molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations and has been successfully used to study microstructures and properties of polymers in the bulk state and solvent. [11,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] In this method a series of soft particles are considered to interact with each other and each particle represents a small volume of fluid containing many atoms. Details of the DPD method are given elsewhere.…”

“…Thus, 2-4 Â 10 5 DPD steps were carried out for a DPD simulation, depending on the system concerned as carried out in our previous work. [11][12][13]27,28] Results and Discussion…”

Multicompartment Micellar Solutions in Shear: A Dissipative Particle Dynamics Study

“…The DPD method has been successfully used to study the microstructures and properties of polymers in bulk state and in solvent. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Details of the DPD method are given by Groot and co-workers. [20,24] …”