The Equilibrium Theory of Inhomogeneous Polymers PDF

by Glenn Fredrickson

Part of the International Series of Monographs on Physics series

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Description

The Equilibrium Theory of Inhomogeneous Polymers provides an introduction to the field-theoretic methods and computer simulation techniques that are used in the design of structured polymeric fluids.

By such methods, the principles that dictate equilibrium self-assembly in systems ranging from block and graft copolymers, to polyelectrolytes, liquid crystalline polymers, and polymer nanocomposites can be established.

Building on an introductory discussion ofsingle-polymer statistical mechanics, the book provides a detailed treatment of analytical and numerical techniques for addressing the conformational properties of polymers subjected to spatially-varying potential fields.

This problem is shown to be central to the field-theoretic description of interactingpolymeric fluids, and models for a number of important polymer systems are elaborated.

Chapter 5 serves to unify and expound the topic of self-consistent field theory, which is a collection of analytical and numerical techniques for obtaining solutions of polymer field theory models in the mean-field approximation.

The concluding Chapter 6 provides a discussion of analytical methods for going beyond the mean-field approximation and an introduction to the exciting new field of field-theoreticpolymer simulations - the direct numerical simulation of polymer field theory models.

No other book brings together in such a detailed and instructive fashion the theoretical and numerical tools for investigating the equilibrium structure and thermodynamics of meso-structured polymer formulations,including those relevant to soft material nanotechnologies, personal care products, and multiphase plastic materials.