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arXiv · 2207.12015

Designing enhanced entropy binding in single-chain nano particles

Lorenzo Rovigatti·Francesco Sciortino
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Abstract

Single-chain nanoparticles (SCNP) are a new class of bio and soft-matter polymeric objects in which a fraction of the monomers are able to form equivalently intra- or inter-polymer bonds. Here we numerically show that a fully-entropic gas-liquid phase separation can take place in SCNP systems. Control over the discontinuous (first-order) change -- from a phase of independent diluted (fully-bonded) polymers to a phase in which polymers entropically bind to each other to form a (fully-bonded) polymer network -- can be achieved by a judicious design of the patterns of reactive monomers along the polymer chain. Such a sensitivity arises from a delicate balance between the distinct entropic contributions controlling the binding.

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Lorenzo Rovigatti, Francesco Sciortino. 2022-07-25. Designing enhanced entropy binding in single-chain nano particles. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.129.047801

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