Is Xanthan a Wormlike Chain or a Rigid Rod?

1981 ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
GEORGE M. HOLZWARTH
Keyword(s):  
Wormlike Chain ◽  
Rigid Rod

scholarly journals Orientational Fluctuations and Bimodality in Semiflexible Nunchucks

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2031
Author(s):  
Panayotis Benetatos ◽  
Mohammadhosein Razbin
Keyword(s):  
Block Copolymers ◽  
Bending Stiffness ◽  
Steric Repulsion ◽  
Bending Rigidity ◽  
Bending Angle ◽  
Wormlike Chain ◽  
Rigid Rod ◽  
Hinge Position ◽  
Dna Nanotubes ◽  
Dna Nanotube

Semiflexible nunchucks are block copolymers consisting of two long blocks with high bending rigidity jointed by a short block of lower bending stiffness. Recently, the DNA nanotube nunchuck was introduced as a simple nanoinstrument that mechanically magnifies the bending angle of short double-stranded (ds) DNA and allows its measurement in a straightforward way [Fygenson et al., Nano Lett. 2020, 20, 2, 1388–1395]. It comprises two long DNA nanotubes linked by a dsDNA segment, which acts as a hinge. The semiflexible nunchuck geometry also appears in dsDNA with a hinge defect (e.g., a quenched denaturation bubble or a nick), and in end-linked stiff filaments. In this article, we theoretically investigate various aspects of the conformations and the tensile elasticity of semiflexible nunchucks. We analytically calculate the distribution of bending fluctuations of a wormlike chain (WLC) consisting of three blocks with different bending stiffness. For a system of two weakly bending WLCs end-jointed by a rigid kink, with one end grafted, we calculate the distribution of positional fluctuations of the free end. For a system of two weakly bending WLCs end-jointed by a hinge modeled as harmonic bending spring, with one end grafted, we calculate the positional fluctuations of the free end. We show that, under certain conditions, there is a pronounced bimodality in the transverse fluctuations of the free end. For a semiflexible nunchuck under tension, under certain conditions, there is bimodality in the extension as a function of the hinge position. We also show how steric repulsion affects the bending fluctuations of a rigid-rod nunchuck.

Morphology of High-Performance Rigid-Rod Polymer Fibers and Molecular Composites

1989 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 338-339
Author(s):  
W.W. Adams ◽  
S. J. Krause
Keyword(s):  
Tensile Strength ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Liquid Crystalline ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Tensile Modulus ◽  
Commercial Development ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Molecular Composites ◽  
Rigid Rod

Rigid-rod polymers such as PBO, poly(paraphenylene benzobisoxazole), Figure 1a, are now in commercial development for use as high-performance fibers and for reinforcement at the molecular level in molecular composites. Spinning of liquid crystalline polyphosphoric acid solutions of PBO, followed by washing, drying, and tension heat treatment produces fibers which have the following properties: density of 1.59 g/cm3; tensile strength of 820 kpsi; tensile modulus of 52 Mpsi; compressive strength of 50 kpsi; they are electrically insulating; they do not absorb moisture; and they are insensitive to radiation, including ultraviolet. Since the chain modulus of PBO is estimated to be 730 GPa, the high stiffness also affords the opportunity to reinforce a flexible coil polymer at the molecular level, in analogy to a chopped fiber reinforced composite. The objectives of the molecular composite concept are to eliminate the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between the fiber and the matrix, as occurs in conventional composites, to eliminate the interface between the fiber and the matrix, and, hopefully, to obtain synergistic effects from the exceptional stiffness of the rigid-rod molecule. These expectations have been confirmed in the case of blending rigid-rod PBZT, poly(paraphenylene benzobisthiazole), Figure 1b, with stiff-chain ABPBI, poly 2,5(6) benzimidazole, Fig. 1c A film with 30% PBZT/70% ABPBI had tensile strength 190 kpsi and tensile modulus of 13 Mpsi when solution spun from a 3% methane sulfonic acid solution into a film. The modulus, as predicted by rule of mixtures, for a film with this composition and with planar isotropic orientation, should be 16 Mpsi. The experimental value is 80% of the theoretical value indicating that the concept of a molecular composite is valid.

Alignment of Rigid-Rod Polypeptide Chains by Solvent Quenching

2003 ◽  
Vol 771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuli Wang ◽  
Ying Chih Chang
Keyword(s):  
Tilt Angle ◽  
Rigid Rod ◽  
Polypeptide Chains ◽  
Poor Solvent

AbstractWe introduce a simple “solvent quenching” approach to align the rigid-rod à-helical poly(α-benzyl-L-glutamate) (PBLG) chains in the surface-grafted monolayer. By sequentially treating with a good solvent and a poor solvent, a unidirectionally aligned PBLG monolayer with an average tilt angle as small as 3° is obtained.

Probing the Versatility of Shape-Persistent Tetraphenylmethane Dendrimers by Modification of the Skeleton

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio Ignacio Urzúa ◽  
Sandra Campana ◽  
Massimo Lazzari ◽  
Mercedes Torneiro
Keyword(s):  
Design Principle ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Sonogashira Coupling ◽  
Terminal Alkyne ◽  
Double Phase ◽  
Rigid Rod ◽  
Convergent Approach ◽  
First And Second Generation ◽  
Oxidative Homocoupling ◽  
Hypercrosslinked Polymers

Tetraphenylmethane has emerged as a recurrent building block for advanced porous materials such as COFs, PAFs and hypercrosslinked polymers. Guided by a similar design principle, we have previously synthesized shape-persistent dendrimers with tetraphenylmethane nodes and ethynylene linkers. Here we report the generality of our approach by describing new dendritic architectures built from tetraphenylmethane. First, we prepared expanded dendrimers where the tetrahedral units are bonded through larger rigid rod spacers. Among the different synthetic strategies tested, the convergent route, with alternating steps of Pd-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling and alkyne activation by removal of TMS masking groups, efficiently afforded the first- and second-generation dendrimers. A second type of compounds having a linear diyne at the core is also described. The dendrimers of generations 1-2 were also synthesized by a convergent approach, with the diyne being assembled in the last step of the synthesis by a Glaser oxidative homocoupling of the corresponding dendrons bearing a terminal alkyne at the focal point. A third-generation dendrimer was also successfully prepared by a double-phase strategy.<br>

scholarly journals Settling of an asymmetric dumbbell in a quiescent fluid

2016 ◽  
Vol 802 ◽  
pp. 174-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Candelier ◽  
B. Mehlig
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Steady State ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
Fluid Inertia ◽  
Horizontal Orientation ◽  
Vertically Aligned ◽  
Rigid Rod ◽  
Quiescent Fluid

We compute the hydrodynamic torque on a dumbbell (two spheres linked by a massless rigid rod) settling in a quiescent fluid at small but finite Reynolds number. The spheres have the same mass densities but different sizes. When the sizes are quite different, the dumbbell settles vertically, aligned with the direction of gravity, the largest sphere first. But when the size difference is sufficiently small, then its steady-state angle is determined by a competition between the size difference and the Reynolds number. When the sizes of the spheres are exactly equal, then fluid inertia causes the dumbbell to settle in a horizontal orientation.

scholarly journals Single Chain Mean-Field Theory Study on Responsive Behavior of Semiflexible Polymer Brush

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 778
Author(s):  
Yingli Niu ◽  
Xiangyu Bu ◽  
Xinghua Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Field Theory ◽  
Message Passing Interface ◽  
Mean Field Theory ◽  
Mean Field ◽  
Algorithmic Complexity ◽  
Ensemble Average ◽  
Single Chain ◽  
Metropolis Monte Carlo ◽  
Rigid Rod ◽  
Chain Conformations

The application of single chain mean-field theory (SCMFT) on semiflexible chain brushes is reviewed. The worm-like chain (WLC) model is the best mode of semiflexible chain that can continuously recover to the rigid rod model and Gaussian chain (GC) model in rigid and flexible limits, respectively. Compared with the commonly used GC model, SCMFT is more applicable to the WLC model because the algorithmic complexity of the WLC model is much higher than that of the GC model in self-consistent field theory (SCFT). On the contrary, the algorithmic complexity of both models in SCMFT are comparable. In SCMFT, the ensemble average of quantities is obtained by sampling the conformations of a single chain or multi-chains in the external auxiliary field instead of solving the modified diffuse equation (MDE) in SCFT. The precision of this calculation is controlled by the number of bonds Nm used to discretize the chain contour length L and the number of conformations M used in the ensemble average. The latter factor can be well controlled by metropolis Monte Carlo simulation. This approach can be easily generalized to solve problems with complex boundary conditions or in high-dimensional systems, which were once nightmares when solving MDEs in SCFT. Moreover, the calculations in SCMFT mainly relate to the assemble averages of chain conformations, for which a portion of conformations can be performed parallel on different computing cores using a message-passing interface (MPI).

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