Abstract
We performed Langevin dynamics simulations of amphiphilic polymers that contain strongly associating stickers connected by long soluble chain segments. We explored the aging of a thermoreversible gel, which is cross-linked by aggregates (clusters) of the stickers, and observed a dramatic increase of their lifetime with aging. We find that the observed aging is the result of structural reorganization of the network: the number of cross-links decreases with time as small clusters disintegrate and their stickers are reabsorbed by large clusters that grow and become more stable by forming additional intramolecular associations between their stickers.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 3883-3890 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Macromolecules |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 26 May 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Y.R. would like to acknowledge helpful discussion and correspondence with Eduard Lemke. This work was supported by grants from the Israel Science Foundation 178/16 and from the Israeli Centers for Research Excellence program of the Planning and Budgeting Committee 1902/12.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Chemical Society.