Surface scaling analysis of hydrogels: From multiaffine to self-affine scaling

G. M. Buendia; S. J. Mitchell; P. A. Rikvold

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Surface scaling analysis of hydrogels: From multiaffine to self-affine scaling

G. M. Buendia·S. J. Mitchell·P. A. Rikvold

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Abstract

We show that smoothing of multiaffine surfaces that are generated by simulating a crosslinked polymer gel by a frustrated, triangular network of springs of random equilibrium lengths [G.M. Buend{\'ı}a, S.J. Mitchell, P.A. Rikvold, Phys. Rev. E 66 (2002) 046119] changes the scaling behavior of the surfaces such that they become self-affine. The self-affine behavior is consistent with recent atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of the surface structure of crosslinked polymer gels into which voids are introduced through templating by surfactant micelles [M. Chakrapani, S.J. Mitchell, D.H. Van Winkle, P.A. Rikvold, J. Colloid Interface Sci., in press]. The smoothing process mimics the effect of the AFM tip that tends to flatten the soft gel surfaces. Both the experimental and the simulated surfaces have a non-trivial scaling behavior on small length scales, with a crossover to scale-independent behavior on large scales.

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G. M. Buendia, S. J. Mitchell, P. A. Rikvold. 2003-02-11. Surface scaling analysis of hydrogels: From multiaffine to self-affine scaling. https://arxiv.org/abs/cond-mat/0302205

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