ELASTIC LENNARD-JONNED MODEL

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with Martin Kröger and Yitzhak Rabin

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We developed a toy model that contains the basic features of microphase separation in polymer gels: a stretched elastic network of Lennard-Jones particles. At low temperatures, dense filaments are formed. These mesoscopic structures are shown to be a general feature of phase separation in connected polymer networks.

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O. Peleg et al., Phys. Rev. E (2009) 
O. Peleg et al., Macromolecules (2008) 
M. Kröger, O. Peleg et al., [Featured on Cover]

Soft Matter (2008)
O. Peleg et al., Europhys. Lett. (2007) 

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We study the dynamics of microphase separation in polymer networks using a toy model (stretched elastic network of Lennard-Jones particles) that effectively capture the basic features of this phenomenon. Implementing the model within the Molecular Dynamics scheme revealed that under a delicate balance among the particle attraction forces, thermal motion and elastic forces, the network separates into dense domains of filaments (colored green in the movie), surrounded by low density domains (colored blue). The mesoscopic structures are shown to be a quite general feature of phase separation in connected polymer networks.