Viscoelastic Properties of Concentrated Polymer Solutions, U.S.-Italy Program

该奖项将支持芝加哥大学的卡尔·弗里德教授和意大利热诺瓦的天然和合成大分子化学物理研究中心的安吉洛·佩里科教授之间的合作研究。本研究涉及柔性聚合物溶液的粘弹性研究。利用重整化群方法和统计力学，研究人员计划扩展流体动力学性质与浓度相关的理论，以纳入浓溶液中聚合物动力学的各个方面。这项研究是弗里德教授和佩里科教授目前得到支持的工作的国际组成部分。其目的是发展一套完整的依赖于流体动力和聚合物溶剂相互作用的聚合物性质理论。合作者成功地重新阐述了流体动力多重散射理论，该理论有可能解决许多与聚合物浓度有关的新的动力学问题。由于与这些问题相关的固有数学困难，即使在最简单的极限情况下，达成一个连贯的理论也应该是一个重大的进步。此外，提出的问题很重要，可能会对从生物学到技术的各种应用产生重大影响。

This award will support collaborative research between Professor Karl Freed of the University of Chicago and Professor Angelo Perico of the Center for Chemical Physics Research on Natural and Synthetic Macromolecules in Genova, Italy. This research concerns the study of viscoelastic properties of solutions of flexible polymers. Using renormalization group methods and statistical mechanics, the investigators plan to extend the theory of concentration dependence of hydrodynamic properties to incorporate various aspects of the dynamics of polymers in concentrated solutions. This research is an international component of currently supported work of Professors Freed and Perico. The aim is to develop a complete theory of polymer properties that are dependent on hydrodynamic and polymer solvent interactions. The collaborators have succeeded in reformulating a hydrodynamic multiple scattering theory that has the potential for solving many new dynamical problems related to polymer concentration. Because of the inherent mathematical difficulties associated with these problems even in the simplest limiting cases, the achievement of a coherent theory should be a significant advance. Additionally, the proposed problems are important and may have a significant impact on applications ranging from biology to technology.