Effects of rotational symmetry breaking in polymer-coated nanopores
- London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)
- Centre for Mathematics, Physics and Engineering in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)
The statistical theory of polymers tethered around the inner surface of a cylindrical channel has traditionally employed the assumption that the equilibrium density of the polymers is independent of the azimuthal coordinate. However, simulations have shown that this rotational symmetry can be broken when there are attractive interactions between the polymers. We investigate the phases that emerge in these circumstances, and we quantify the effect of the symmetry assumption on the phase behavior of the system. In the absence of this assumption, one can observe large differences in the equilibrium densities between the rotationally symmetric case and the non-rotationally symmetric case. A simple analytical model is developed that illustrates the driving thermodynamic forces responsible for this symmetry breaking. Our results have implications for the current understanding of the behavior of polymers in cylindrical nanopores.
- OSTI ID:
- 22416027
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 142, Issue 3; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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