Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Theoretical Model of Elasticity in Slide-Ring Gels

Y Yasuda and T Masumoto and K Mayumi and M Toda and H Yokoyama and H Morita and K Ito, ACS MACRO LETTERS, 9, 1280-1285 (2020).

DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.0c00194

In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were carried out on the uniaxial deformation of slide-ring (SR) networks with slidable cross-links to understand the relationship between the sliding of the cross-linking points and the Young's moduli of SR gels, which are lower than those of covalently cross-linked gels with the same cross-linking densities. The slidability of the cross-links in SR gels was characterized by the rate of change of the segment number between the cross-links, Nslide, estimated by the MD simulation. We have successfully constructed a molecular model for the elasticity of SR gels and proposed a simple equation for the Young's moduli of SR gels as a function of Nslide. The theoretical model was compared with the MD simulation results and experimental data.

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