Michael Rubinstein

Abstract This is a polymer physics textbook for upper level undergraduates and first year graduate students. Any student with a working knowledge of calculus, physics and chemistry should be able to read this book. The essential tools of the polymer physical chemist or engineer are derived in this book without skipping any steps. The book is a self-contained treatise that could also serve as a useful reference for scientists and engineers working with polymers. While no prior knowledge of polyme

We develop and solve a new molecular model for nonlinear elasticity of entangled polymer networks. This model combines and generalizes several succeseful ideas introduced over the years in the field of the rubber elasticity. The topological constraints imposed by the neighboring network chains on a given network are represented by the confining potential that changes upon network deformation. This topological potential restricts fluctuations of the network chain to the nonaffinely deformed confi

The process of making and breaking reversible bonds between associating groups (stickers) controls the dynamics of associating polymers. We develop a theory of “sticky reptation” to model the dynamics of entangled solutions of associating polymers with many stickers per chain. At a high degree of association, there are very few unassociated stickers. It is therefore very difficult for a sticker to find a new partner to associate with after breaking the bond with an old one. Typically a sticker r

Self-organization of nanoparticles is an efficient strategy for producing nanostructures with complex, hierarchical architectures. The past decade has witnessed great progress in nanoparticle self-assembly, yet the quantitative prediction of the architecture of nanoparticle ensembles and of the kinetics of their formation remains a challenge. We report on the marked similarity between the self-assembly of metal nanoparticles and reaction-controlled step-growth polymerization. The nanoparticles a

Viscoelastic properties of reversible networks formed in solutions of associating polymers are considered theoretically in the Rouse−Zimm (unentangled) regime. It is shown that the dynamics is governed primarily by the network strand size and by the effective lifetime of reversible junctions. Both frequency and concentration dependencies of viscosity and dynamical moduli are considered. A novel model taking into account the possibility of multiple dissociation and recombination of the same pair

We present a scaling theory for the modulus G of polyelectrolyte gels as a function of strand length between cross-links, monomer concentration c, salt concentration cs, and preparation conditions (monomer concentration c0 and salt concentration cs°). The theory assumes affine displacement of the junction points when the concentration is changed. With no added salt (cs = cs° = 0), we predict a new concentration dependence of the modulus G ∼ c5/6. In the high-salt limit, we predict the usual conc

Bottlebrushes are fascinating macromolecules that display an intriguing combination of molecular and particulate features having vital implications in both living and synthetic systems, such as cartilage and ultrasoft elastomers. However, the progress in practical applications is impeded by the lack of knowledge about the hierarchic organization of both individual bottlebrushes and their assemblies. We delineate fundamental correlations between molecular architecture, mesoscopic conformation, an

The numerous works on media retargeting call for a methodological approach for evaluating retargeting results. We present the first comprehensive perceptual study and analysis of image retargeting. First, we create a benchmark of images and conduct a large scale user study to compare a representative number of state-of-the-art retargeting methods. Second, we present analysis of the users' responses, where we find that humans in general agree on the evaluation of the results and show that some re

We demonstrate that the origin of the nonlinear elasticity of polymer networks rests in their nonaffine deformations. We introduce the affine length Raff, which separates the solid-like elastic deformations on larger scales from liquid-like nonaffine deformations on smaller scales. This affine length grows with elongation λ as Raff ∼ λ3/2 and decreases upon compression as Raff ∼ λ1/2. The behavior of networks on scales up to Raff is that of stretched or compressed individual chains (we call them

Soft, solvent-free poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomers are fabricated by a one-step process via crosslinking bottlebrush polymers. The bottlebrush architecture prevents the formation of entanglements, resulting in elastomers with precisely controllable low moduli from 1 to 100 kPa, below the lower limit of traditional elastomers; moreover, the solvent-free nature enables their negligible adhesiveness compared to commercially available silicone products of similar stiffness.

A discretized version of the reptation model is proposed. The tube is modeled by a one-dimensional lattice and the polymer is modeled by a cluster of walkers, called reptons, on this lattice. Each repton represents a part of the chain. Reptons are allowed to hop between neighboring sites, but the cluster always remains connected. This model is solved analytically and numerically. In the experimentally accessible range of molecular weights M it predicts the diffusion coefficient D\ensuremath{\sim

The effects of polydispersity on the linear viscoelastic properties of concentrated polymer solutions and melts are analyzed. Existing theories for the dynamics of linear polymers, based on the idea of each polymer confined in a fixed tube, are shown to be incapable of describing observed rheological response of polydisperse polymers. A model is proposed which, in a self-consistent manner, solves the many chain problem given the solution to the single chain problem. Two types of polymer relaxati

The configurations and dynamics of a polymer ring ($R$) inside a strongly crosslinked polymer gel ($G$) are discussed and compared to those of linear ($L$) and branched ($B$) polymers in $G$. $R$ is not topologically connected to $G$ in the sense that the contour line of $R$ can be reduced to a point without crossing any of the chains of $G$. This topological requirement leads to the correspondence between the configurations of $R$ in $G$ and the set of lattice trees (randomly branched polymers)