Giant activity-induced elasticity in entangled polymer solutions

Area of Science:

• Polymer Physics
• Soft Matter Physics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Equilibrium polymer physics predicts scaling laws for viscoelastic properties in natural and synthetic polymers.
• Active polymer systems, driven far from equilibrium, are gaining importance but their viscoelastic properties remain poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the viscoelastic properties of highly-entangled, flexible self-propelled polymers.
• To understand the impact of activity on polymer system dynamics and scaling laws.

Main Methods:

• Brownian dynamics simulations were employed.
• The study focused on highly-entangled, flexible self-propelled polymers.

Main Results:

• Activity significantly enhances elasticity, scaling with polymer length (∼ L) due to grip forces at entanglement points.
• Activity fluidizes the suspension, with long-time viscosity scaling as ∼ L², a change from passive systems (∼ L³).

Conclusions:

• Self-propulsion in polymers dramatically alters viscoelastic properties.
• These findings pave the way for designing novel activity-responsive polymeric materials.