STATISTICAL THERMODYNAMICS OF MIXTURES OF RODLIKE PARTICLES .6. RODS CONNECTED BY FLEXIBLE JOINTS

Solutions are treated in which the solute molecule comprises m rodlike sequences, each of axis ratio x, connected in linear succession by m-1 joints permitting free orientations. Separation of an anisotropic phase depends predominantly on x. Increasing the chain length from x to xm=mx by joining m rods affects the compositions of the phases coexisting at equilibrium by only a few percent. The implications of these. results on the behavior to be expected in systems of semirigid real chains of various types are discussed. © 1978, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.