Crowded, Confined, and Frustrated: Dynamics of Molecules Tethered to Nanoparticles

Praveen Agarwal, Sung A. Kim, Lynden A. Archer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

55 Scopus citations

Abstract

Above a critical chemistry-dependent molecular weight, all polymer molecules entangle and, as a result, exhibit slow dynamics, enhanced viscosity, and elasticity. Herein we report on the dynamics of low molecular weight polymers tethered to nanoparticles and find that even conventionally unentangled chains manifest dynamical features similar to entangled, long-chain molecules. Our findings are shown to imply that crowding and confinement of polymers on particles produce topological constraints analogous to those in entangled systems. © 2012 American Physical Society.
Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume109
Issue number25
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 19 2012
Externally publishedYes

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