Dimension of ring polymers in bulk studied by Monte-Carlo simulation and self-consistent theory

We studied equilibrium conformations of ring polymers in melt over the wide range of segment number N of up to 4096 with Monte-Carlo simulation and obtained N dependence of radius of gyration of chains R-g. The simulation model used is bond fluctuation model (BFM), where polymer segments bear excluded volume; however, the excluded volume effect vanishes at N -> infinity, and linear polymer can be regarded as an ideal chain. Simulation for ring polymers in melt was performed, and the nu value in the relationship R-g proportional to N-nu is decreased gradually with increasing N, and finally it reaches the limiting value, 1/3, in the range of N >= 1536, i.e., R-g proportional to N-1/3. We confirmed that the simulation result is consistent with that of the self-consistent theory including the topological effect and the osmotic pressure of ring polymers. Moreover, the averaged chain conformation of ring polymers in equilibrium state was given in the BFM. In small N region, the segment density of each molecule near the center of mass of the molecule is decreased with increasing N. In large N region the decrease is suppressed, and the density is found to be kept constant without showing N dependence. This means that ring polymer molecules do not segregate from the other molecules even if ring polymers in melt have the relationship nu = 1/3. Considerably smaller dimensions of ring polymers at high molecular weight are due to their inherent nature of having no chain ends, and hence they have less-entangled conformations. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3247190]