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The Immunity of Polymer-Microemulsion Networks

Guy Hed·S. A. Safran
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Abstract

The concept of network immunity, i.e., the robustness of the network connectivity after a random deletion of edges or vertices, has been investigated in biological or communication networks. We apply this concept to a self-assembling, physical network of microemulsion droplets connected by telechelic polymers, where more than one polymer can connect a pair of droplets. The gel phase of this system has higher immunity if it is more likely to survive (i.e., maintain a macroscopic, connected component) when some of the polymers are randomly degraded. We consider the distribution $p(σ)$ of the number of polymers between a pair of droplets, and show that gel immunity decreases as the variance of $p(σ)$ increases. Repulsive interactions between the polymers decrease the variance, while attractive interactions increase the variance, and may result in a bimodal $p(σ)$.

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Guy Hed, S. A. Safran. 2006-01-17. The Immunity of Polymer-Microemulsion Networks. https://doi.org/10.1140/epje%2Fe2006-00010-y

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