Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 22, 2025

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Influence of Molecular Solvation on the Conformation of Star Polymers
Xin Li, Lionel Porcar1, Luis E Sánchez-Diáz
1Institut Laue-Langevin, B.P. 156, F-38042 Grenoble CEDEX 9, France.
Abstract:
We have used neutron scattering to investigate the influence of concentration on the conformation of a star polymer. By varying the contrast between the solvent and the isotopically labeled stars, we obtain the distributions of polymer and solvent within a star polymer from analysis of scattering data. A correlation between the local desolvation and the inward folding of star branches is discovered. From the perspective of thermodynamics, we find an analogy between the mechanism of polymer localization driven by solvent depletion and that of the hydrophobic collapse of polymers in solutions.
More Related Videos
06:16Monitoring the Effects of Illumination on the Structure of Conjugated Polymer Gels Using Neutron Scattering
Published on: December 21, 2017
06:55Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: September 26, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Entropy and Solvation
Polymer Classification: Stereospecificity
Solvating Effects
Molecular Shape and Polarity
Molecular Weight of Step-Growth 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...
Polymer Classification: Crystallinity
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...