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Computer Simulation Study on Adsorption and Conformation of Polymer Chains Driven by External Force

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Abstract

In this work, Monte Carlo simulations are used to study the critical adsorption behaviors of flexible polymer chains under the action of an external driving force F parallel to an attractive flat surface. The critical adsorption temperature Tc decreases linearly with increasing F, indicating that the driving force suppresses the adsorption of polymer. The conformation of polymer is also affected by the driving force. However, the effect of F is dependent on the competition between the driving force and temperature. Under strong force or at low temperature, the polymer is stretched along the direction of the force, while under weak force or at high temperature, the polymer is not stretched. When the force is comparable to the temperature, the polymer may be stretched perpendicular to the driving force, and below Tc, we observe conformational transitions from parallel to perpendicular and again to parallel by decreasing the temperature. We found that the perpendicular stretched conformation leads the polymer chain to synchronously move along the direction of the driving force. Moreover, the conformational transitions are attributed to the competition and cooperation between the driving force and the temperature.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Research Fund of Zhejiang Provincial Education Department (No. Y201738867) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 11775161, 11875205, and 11974305).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information, Wenzhou Polytechnic, Wenzhou, 325035, China

    He-Bei Gao & Xiang-Hong Wang

  2. College of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, China

    Hong Li & Xiao-Qin Zhang

  3. Department of Physics, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310036, China

    Chao-Yang Li

  4. Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China

    Meng-Bo Luo

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  1. He-Bei Gao
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Correspondence to Hong Li, Xiao-Qin Zhang or Meng-Bo Luo.

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Gao, HB., Li, H., Zhang, XQ. et al. Computer Simulation Study on Adsorption and Conformation of Polymer Chains Driven by External Force. Chin J Polym Sci 39, 258–266 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-020-2491-x

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