Mechanical behavior of a single polymer chain in a non-solvent

作者:Horinaka Jun ichi*; Takaki Tomohiro; Takigawa Toshikazu
来源:Polymer, 2011, 52(24): 5644-5647.
DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2011.09.042

摘要

Mechanical properties of a single polystyrene chain in mixtures of dioxane and methanol were measured with AFM. The effect of the solubility of the surrounding liquid on mechanical behavior of a polymer chain was examined. In good and Theta solvents, the force-extension curves exhibit a freely jointed chain (FJC)-like trend with good reproducibility. In a non-solvent, the profile of force-extension curve was dependent on the extension speed: an FJC-like nature emerged at the lower speed of 200 nm/s while saw-toothed curves were obtained at the higher speed of 2000 nm/s. The shape of saw-toothed curves varied from measurement to measurement. A force relaxation was also observed in the non-solvent under a fixed extension distance after 2000 nm/s extension. The mechanical behavior in non-solvents suggests that inhomogeneous deformation of a PS chain occurs due to reduction of the chain mobility.

  • 出版日期2011-11-10