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Related Concept Videos

Cationic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism00:57

Cationic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism

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The cationic polymerization mechanism consists of three steps: initiation, propagation, and termination. In the initiation step of the polymerization process, the π bond of a monomer gets protonated by the Lewis acid catalyst, which is formed from boron trifluoride and water. The protonation of the π bond generates a carbocation stabilized by the electron‐donating group. In the propagation step, the π bond of the second monomer acts as a nucleophile and attacks the...
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Ziegler–Natta Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:17

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Ziegler–Natta polymerization is another form of addition or chain‐growth polymerization used for synthesizing linear polymers over branched polymers. The catalyst used for polymerization is the Ziegler–Natta catalyst, named after Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta, who developed it in 1953. This catalyst is an organometallic complex of titanium tetrachloride and triethyl aluminum, with the active form of the catalyst being an alkyl titanium compound. Using the Ziegler–Natta...
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Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism01:09

Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism

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The radical chain-growth polymerization mechanism consists of three steps: initiation, propagation, and termination of polymerization. The polymerization initiates when a free radical generated from the radical initiator adds to the unsaturated bond in the monomer. The unpaired electron of the free radical and one π electron in the unsaturated bond creates a σ bond between the free radical and the monomer. As a result, the other π electron in the unsaturated bond converts this...
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Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism01:04

Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism

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The mechanism for anionic chain-growth polymerization involves initiation, propagation, and termination steps. In the initiation step, a nucleophilic anion, such as butyl lithium, initiates the polymerization process by attacking the π bond of the vinylic monomer. As a result, a carbanion, stabilized by the electron‐withdrawing group, is generated. The resulting carbanion acts as a Michael donor in the propagation step and attacks the second vinylic monomer, which acts as a Michael...
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Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Chain Branching01:17

Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Chain Branching

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The skeletal structure of polymers synthesized via radical polymerization is always branched. For example, the polymerization of ethylene by radical polymerization results in a low-density grade of polyethylene with a heavily branched skeletal structure. Here, the radical site abstracts hydrogen from the growing chain, and the radical site shifts from the end (a primary carbon center) to anywhere within the growing chain (a secondary carbon center). Consequently, the part of the chain from the...
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Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview01:03

Step-Growth Polymerization: Overview

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Step-growth or condensation polymerization is a stepwise reaction of bi or multifunctional monomers to form long-chain polymers. As all the monomers are reactive, most of the monomers are consumed at the early stages of the reaction to form small chains of reactive oligomers, which then combine to form long polymer chains in the late stages. Hence, the reaction has to proceed for a long time to achieve high molecular weight polymers.
Many natural and synthetic polymers are produced by...
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Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
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Crowding-induced polymer trapping in a channel.

Jialu Chen1, Liang Sun1, Simin Wang1

  • 1Department of Physics, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Physical Review. E
|December 24, 2021
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Crowding particles can trap polymers in channel corners via depletion effects. This polymer trapping phenomenon requires a minimum crowder concentration and is influenced by channel shape, with potential applications in DNA stretching for genome mapping.

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Area of Science:

  • Soft Matter Physics
  • Polymer Physics
  • Computational Biophysics

Background:

  • Confined polymers exhibit unique behaviors influenced by their environment.
  • Crowder particles can alter polymer conformations through excluded volume and depletion effects.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the phenomenon of crowding-induced polymer trapping in confined geometries.
  • To determine the critical crowder concentration for polymer trapping.
  • To explore the influence of crowder size, polymer properties, and channel geometry on trapping.

Main Methods:

  • Langevin dynamics simulations
  • Analytical calculations
  • Analysis of polymer conformation and crowder volume fraction

Main Results:

  • Crowding particles induce an effective polymer-corner attraction via depletion, leading to polymer trapping.
  • A minimum crowder volume fraction (ϕ*) is required for trapping, with scaling laws dependent on crowder and monomer sizes.
  • Polymer trapping is sensitive to channel cross-sectional shape, being more pronounced in triangular channels than square ones.
  • Trapped polymers adopt a nearly fully stretched conformation along the channel corner.

Conclusions:

  • Crowding-induced polymer trapping is a robust phenomenon driven by depletion effects in confined spaces.
  • The critical crowder concentration for trapping is predictable and tunable by adjusting system parameters.
  • This finding has potential applications in nanotechnology, particularly for stretching long DNA molecules for high-resolution mapping.