Collection of Czechoslovak Chemical Communications - digital archive 

Abstract

Monte Carlo simulations of chain conformations in a restricted spherical volume at relatively high densities of segments were performed for various numbers of chains, N, and chain lengths (number of segments), L, on a tetrahedral lattice. All chains are randomly end-tethered to the surface of the sphere. A relatively uniform surface density of the tethered ends is guaranteed in our simulations. A simultaneous self-avoiding walk of all chains creates starting conformations for a subsequent equilibration. A modified algorithm similar to that of Siepmann and Frenkel is used for the equilibration of the chain conformations. In this paper, only a geometrical excluded volume effect of segments is considered. Various structural and conformational characteristics, e.g. segment densities g_S(r), free end densities g_F(r) as functions of the position in the sphere (a distance from the center), distributions of the tethered-to-free end distances, ρ_TF(r_TF), etc. are calculated and their physical meaning is discussed. The model is suitable for studies of chain conformations is swollen cores of multimolecular block copolymer micelles and for interpretation of non-radiative excitation energy migration in polymeric micellar systems.