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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Dynamical properties of semidilute solutions of hydrogen-bonded supramolecular polymers
Eric Buhler1, Sauveur-Jean Candau, Elena Kolomiets
1Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR CNRS 7057, Université Paris 7-Denis Diderot, Bâtiment Condorcet, CC 7056, Paris cedex 13, France.
Abstract:
The dynamical properties of semidilute solutions of supramolecular polymers formed from molecular recognition directed association between monomers bearing complementary hydrogen bonding groups were investigated by rheological and dynamic light scattering experiments. The steady-state flow curves showed a shear banding type instability, namely the occurrence of a stress plateau sigma(p) above a critical shear rate .gamma(c) . The values of sigma(p)and .gamma(c) were found to be of the same order of magnitude as those of the elastic plateau modulus and the inverse stress relaxation time, respectively. The above features are in agreement with the theoretical predictions based on the reptation model. Dynamic light scattering experiments showed the presence in the autocorrelation function of the concentration fluctuations of a slow viscoelastic relaxation process that is likely to be of Rouse type.
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