Effective interactions between star polymers and colloidal particles

Abstract

Using monomer-resolved Molecular Dynamics simulations and theoretical\narguments based on the radial dependence of the osmotic pressure in the\ninterior of a star, we systematically investigate the effective interactions\nbetween hard, colloidal particles and star polymers in a good solvent. The\nrelevant parameters are the size ratio q between the stars and the colloids, as\nwell as the number of polymeric arms f (functionality) attached to the common\ncenter of the star. By covering a wide range of q's ranging from zero (star\nagainst a flat wall) up to about 0.75, we establish analytical forms for the\nstar-colloid interaction which are in excellent agreement with simulation\nresults. A modified expression for the star-star interaction for low\nfunctionalities, f < 10 is also introduced.\n