ASSOCIATING POLYMERS - EQUILIBRIUM AND LINEAR VISCOELASTICITY

A theory for the equilibrium and dynamic properties of a solution of telechelic polymers in the limit of high aggregation number is presented. It is shown that (1) the micelles formed by telechelic chains (flowers) in a dilute solution strongly attract each other, (2) at some concentration phi* the flowers form a reversible gel where they are connected by multiple bridges, (3) the dynamics of individual micelles in the gel is governed by the bridge/loop exchange rate and by the effective barrier associated with the hopping of a micelle to a new position; this barrier is determined by the energy associated to a deformation/ compression of a micelle, (4) the viscosity is changing exponentially in the region phi > phi* (it is increasing in the vicinity of phi*); however, it can decrease (with phi) in a limited concentration range above phi*.