Molecular recognition by van der Waals interaction between polymers with sequence-specific polarizabilities

Area of Science:

• Polymer Physics
• Chemical Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Van der Waals interactions are crucial for molecular recognition and self-assembly.
• Understanding polymer interactions requires considering sequence-specific properties.
• Anisotropic polarizabilities influence intermolecular forces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze van der Waals interactions between sequence-specific polymers.
• To investigate the impact of identical versus distinct polarizability sequences.
• To explore the role of correlation length in polymer interactions.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis of van der Waals interaction energy.
• Modeling of rigid, rod-like polymers with quenched-in polarizability sequences.
• Examination of interaction scaling with inter-polymer separation (r).

Main Results:

• Identical polymers show a novel r(-5) scaling for van der Waals energy at small separations.
• Distinct polymers exhibit a standard r(-4) scaling.
• Identical polymers display angular dependence favoring attraction when aligned.

Conclusions:

• Sequence-specific polarizabilities significantly alter van der Waals interactions.
• The r(-5) scaling for identical polymers suggests a new mechanism for polymer association.
• These findings can inform the design of polymers for specific molecular recognition tasks.