A computer simulation of the effect of temperature on melt chain dimensions of random short chain branched polyethylene

It is well established that the chain dimensions of a polymer are intimately related to viscoelastic fingerprint and relevant macroscopic properties material such as entanglement modulus its melt viscosity. In this work, have been obtained by means molecular dynamics simulations computed at different temperatures in series ethylene/1-butene copolymers with constant number carbons backbone but varying branch content, from linear polyethylene poly(1-butene) range weight extending 7012 g/mol till 14025 g/mol. The were performed time window up 5 μs four between 450 600 K. Simulation results good agreement previous SANS experiments kind model polymers. influence amount ethyl branches on temperature dependence conformation was analyzed. Thus, observed trends increasing SCB content can be explained variation trans-trans, gauche-trans gauche-gauche dyads along backbone.