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Updated: Jul 31, 2026

Preparation and Friction Force Microscopy Measurements of Immiscible, Opposing Polymer Brushes
Published on: December 24, 2014
Potential of mean force between two nanometer-scale particles in a polymer solution
M Doxastakis1, Y-L Chen, J J de Pablo
1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 53706-1691, USA.
Abstract:
Expanded ensemble density-of-states simulations and a connectivity altering algorithm are used to investigate the effective interactions that arise between nanoparticles suspended in polymer solutions. Our calculations with systems of long polymeric chains reveal oscillations in the effective polymer-induced interactions between the particles, even at low concentrations. The range of these interactions is considerably longer than originally anticipated, and their origin is traced back to the chain-end effects and density fluctuations that were absent in previous treatments of these systems.
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