Communication: Density-functional theory for inhomogeneous hyperbranched polymeric fluids: Polydisperse effect of degree of branching

摘要

We developed a new density-functional theory (DFT) for inhomogeneous hyperbranched polymers that is able to describe the polydisperse degree of branching quantitatively. The topological contributions of the polymer chains to the Helmholtz free energy take into account the effect of triple connections that are absent in previous DFT investigations. One key advantage of the new theory is that the computational cost shows only a linear relationship with the molecular weight (rather than an exponential relationship). The practical utility of the new DFT is illustrated by investigating colloidal stability in the presence of monodisperse and polydisperse hyperbranched polymers.