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Updated: Jul 11, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: September 26, 2016
Universality in eight-arm star polystyrene and methylcyclohexane mixtures near the critical point
D T Jacobs1, Clinton I Braganza, Andy P Brinck
1Physics Department, The College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio 44691, USA. djacobs@wooster.edu
Abstract:
Measurements of the coexistence curve and turbidity were made on different molecular mass samples of the branched polymer-solvent system eight-arm star polystyrene in methylcyclohexane near its critical point. We confirmed that these systems belong in the Ising universality class. The location of the critical temperature and composition as well as the correlation length, susceptibility, and coexistence curve amplitudes were found to depend on molecular mass and the degree of branching. The coexistence curve diameter had an asymmetry that followed a "complete scaling" approach. All the coexistence curve data could be scaled onto a common curve with one adjustable parameter. We found the coexistence curve amplitude to be about 12% larger for branched than linear polystyrenes of the same molecular mass in either solvent cyclohexane or methylcyclohexane. The two-scale-factor universality ratio R was found to be independent of molecular mass or degree of branching.
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