Polymer chain scission at constant tension - an example of force-induced collective behaviour

Abstract

The breakage of a polymer chain of segments, coupled by anharmonic bonds with applied constant external tensile force is studied by means of Molecular Dynamics simulation. We show that the mean life time of the chain becomes progressively independent of the number of bonds as the pulling force grows. The latter affects also the rupture rates of individual bonds along the polymer backbone manifesting the essential role of inertial effects in the fragmentation process. The role of local defects, temperature and friction in the scission kinetics is also examined.

6 pages, 7 pages

References in corpus (2)

• Thermal breakage of a discrete one-dimensional string
• Thermal Breakage and Self-Healing of a Polymer Chain under Tensile Stress

Cited by in corpus (5)

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