Flory theorem for structurally asymmetric mixtures

The generalization of the Flory theorem for structurally asym. mixts. was derived and tested by direct visualization of conformational transformations of brushlike macromols. embedded in a melt of linear chains. Swelling of a brush mol. was shown to be controlled not only by the d.p. (DP) of the surrounding linear chains, NB, but also by the DP of the brush’s side chains, N, which dets. the structural asymmetry of the mixed species. The boundaries of the swelling region were established by scaling anal. as N2 \textless NB \textless NA/N, where NA is the d.p. of the brush backbone. Expt. and theory demonstrated good agreement. [on SciFinder(R)]