Elastic properties of polymer networks with sliding junctions

Abstract

This paper proposes simple models of polymer networks with sliding junctions for molecular simulation and reports the main results obtained by Brownian dynamics on the elastic properties of networks with tri-functional sliding junctions. The stress-strain relation for isotropic swelling and uniaxial deformation are obtained and compared with those of the conventional chemical gels. We find that mobility and distribution of sliding junctions along the polymer chains drastically change with deformation, and lead to new profiles of the stress. We also find that sliding junctions aggregate by deformation, resulting in the decrease in the number of elastically effective chains.