Molecular characterization of non-equilibrium polymer solutions studied under a temperature gradient as an external field

我们研究了聚合物溶液的Ludwig-Soret效应，即由于施加稳定的温度梯度而导致的浓度梯度的发展，以期对Ludwig-Soret效应的分子机制有更深入的了解。本研究项目旨在为发展非平衡热力学和聚合物物理做出贡献。我们系统地选择了几种水溶性聚合物来揭示分子间通过氢键相互作用的影响。采用热扩散强迫瑞利散射的方法进行了实验研究。此外，由于对非平衡条件下的生物大分子进行了系统的研究，该项目还揭示了生命科学研究领域的新见解。

We have studied the Ludwig-Soret effect, which means the development of the concentration gradient due to the applied stable temperature gradient, for polymer solutions in order to obtain deeper understandings for the molecular mechanisms of the Ludwig-Soret effect. This research project aims to contribute to develop non-equilibrium thermodynamics and polymer physics. We have selected several water-soluble polymers systematically to reveal the effects of molecular interactions through hydrogen bonds. The experimental studies has been carried out by means of thermal diffusion forced Rayleigh scattering. Additionally, the project has revealed a new insight about the research field of life science due to systematic studies on biological macromolecules under the non-equilibrium conditions.