Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Polymer Classification: Crystallinity

Polymer Classification: Crystallinity

Unlike ionic or small covalent molecules, polymers do not form crystalline solids due to the diffusion limitations of their long-chain structures. However, polymers contain microscopic crystalline domains separated by amorphous domains.
Crystalline domains are the regions where polymer chains are aligned in an orderly manner and held together in proximity by intermolecular forces. For example, chains in the crystalline domains of polyethylene and nylon are bound together by van der Waals...

Determination of Molar Masses of Polymers II

Determination of Molar Masses of Polymers II

Polymer samples typically consist of macromolecular chains with a distribution of lengths, resulting in a range of molar masses rather than a single discrete value. Conventional descriptors such as the number-average molar mass and weight-average molar mass quantify this distribution but do not fully capture polymer behavior in solution..The viscosity-average molar mass provides a more realistic description of polymer behavior in solution because it accounts for the enhanced contribution of...

Determination of Molar Masses of Polymers I

Determination of Molar Masses of Polymers I

Polymerization produces macromolecules with a range of chain lengths due to the random nature of molecular growth processes. As chains form and terminate at different stages, a single polymer sample contains molecules of varying sizes rather than a uniform structure. This variability is described using average molar masses and distribution-related parameters, which together provide a comprehensive understanding of polymer characteristics.The distribution of molar masses plays a critical role in...

Polymer Classification: Stereospecificity

Polymer Classification: Stereospecificity

Polymerization generates chiral centers along the entire backbone of a polymer chain. Accordingly, the stereochemistry of the substituent group has a significant effect on polymer properties. Polymers formed from monosubstituted alkene monomers feature chiral carbons at every alternate position in the polymer backbone. Relative to the predominant orientation of substituents at the adjacent chiral carbons, the polymer can exist in three different configurations: isotactic, syndiotactic, and...

Polymers: Molecular Weight Distribution

Polymers: Molecular Weight Distribution

For any given polymer, the weight average molecular weight (Mw) is higher than, if not equal to, the number average molecular weight (Mn). The only situation in which the weight average molecular weight and the number average molecular weight are equal is when a polymer consists only of chains with equal molecular weight. However, this never happens in a synthetic polymer, since it is difficult to control the polymerization process up to a molecular level with accuracy to a hundred percent.

Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers

Molecular Weight of Step-Growth Polymers

Step growth polymerization involves bi or multifunctional monomers. Bifunctional monomers react to form linear step growth polymers, whereas multifunctional monomers react to form non-linear or branched polymers.
As the step-growth polymerization involves step-wise condensation of monomers, the molecular weight also builds up eventually. Consequently, high molecular weight polymers are obtained at the late stages of the polymerization, where 99% of monomers have been consumed.
The extent of the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Coarse-grained force fields via rotational entropy corrections to free-energy landscapes of diffusing molecules.

Physical review. E·2025

Same author

Generalized Einstein Relation for Markovian Friction Coefficients from Molecular Trajectories.

Physical review letters·2025

Same author

Chemical Potential of a Flexible Polymer Liquid in a Coarse-Grained Representation.

The journal of physical chemistry. B·2023

Same author

Identifying the leading dynamics of ubiquitin: A comparison between the tICA and the LE4PD slow fluctuations in amino acids' position.

The Journal of chemical physics·2022

Same author

Comparison between slow anisotropic LE4PD fluctuations and the principal component analysis modes of ubiquitin.

The Journal of chemical physics·2021

Same author

Accuracy, Transferability, and Efficiency of Coarse-Grained Models of Molecular Liquids.

The journal of physical chemistry. B·2018

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Published on: September 26, 2016

Analytical coarse-grained description for polymer melts.

E J Sambriski¹, G Yatsenko, M A Nemirovskaya

¹Department of Chemistry, Institute of Theoretical Science, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA.

The Journal of Chemical Physics

|December 28, 2006

Summary

This study presents an analytical theory to coarse-grain polymer melts into interacting soft colloidal particles, aiding multiscale modeling of complex fluids. The theory accurately reproduces liquid structure, validated by simulations.

More Related Videos

Analyzing Melts and Fluids from Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations with the UMD Package

Analyzing Melts and Fluids from Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations with the UMD Package

Published on: September 17, 2021

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers

Published on: June 20, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level

Published on: September 26, 2016

Analyzing Melts and Fluids from Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations with the UMD Package

Analyzing Melts and Fluids from Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations with the UMD Package

Published on: September 17, 2021

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers

Synthesis of Monodisperse Cylindrical Nanoparticles via Crystallization-driven Self-assembly of Biodegradable Block Copolymers

Published on: June 20, 2019

Area of Science:

Polymer Physics
Soft Matter Physics
Computational Chemistry

Background:

Polymer melts are complex fluids requiring advanced simulation techniques.
Multiscale modeling is crucial for understanding macromolecular behavior.
Coarse-graining simplifies complex systems by representing groups of atoms as single particles.

Purpose of the Study:

To derive an analytical coarse-graining theory for polymer melts.
To represent polymer melts as liquids of interacting soft colloidal particles.
To enable multiscale modeling of complex macromolecular fluids.

Main Methods:

Derivation of an analytical theory from the Ornstein-Zernike equation.
Focus on pair correlation functions for coarse-graining.
Validation using molecular dynamics simulations at united atom and colloidal particle levels.
Enforcement of hypernetted-chain closure approximation for potential input.

Main Results:

The analytical theory successfully coarse-grains polymer melts into soft colloidal particles.
The theory accurately reproduces the center-of-mass intermolecular total pair correlation function.
Simulations confirm good agreement between the analytical theory and molecular dynamics results.
The approach is tested on polyethylene melts and polymers with varying architectures.

Conclusions:

The developed analytical coarse-graining theory is accurate and effective.
This approach facilitates the development of multiscale modeling for complex fluids.
The study highlights the importance of structure factors and higher-order corrections in coarse-graining accuracy.