Highly branched “bottlebrush” polymers are a class of macromolecules characterized by
side chains that are densely grafted from a backbone that is typically linear. Their unique …

Ring polymers have fascinated scientists for decades, but experimental progress has been
challenging due to the presence of linear chain contaminants that fundamentally alter …

Extensive molecular simulations are applied to characterize the equilibrium dynamics,
entanglement topology, and nonlinear extensional rheology of symmetric ring-linear …

We use computer simulations to study a system of two unlinked ring polymers, whose length
and bending stiffness are systematically varied. We derive the effective potentials between …

The shear and elongational rheology of linear and pom-pom shaped polystyrene (PS)
blends was investigated experimentally and modeled using constitutive models such as the …

How local stresses propagate through polymeric fluids, and, more generally, how
macromolecular dynamics give rise to viscoelasticity are open questions vital to wide …

We derive and parameterize effective interaction potentials between a multitude of different
types of ring polymers and linear chains, varying the bending rigidity and solvent quality for …

Strain hardening of long-chain branched polymers in elongational flow occurs due to the
stretch of the backbone chain between branch points. With an increasing number of side …

Understanding how polymers deform in response to local stresses and strains, and how
strains propagate from a local disturbance, are grand challenges in wide-ranging fields from …

We use Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations and single molecule experiments to
investigate the influence of topological constraints and hydrodynamic interactions on the …